Bengals rank 27th with $990 million value

If you were to put a value on the Cincinnati Bengals, what would you say? Over $500 million? Maybe a billion? Infinity dollars? What are you, five years old? The Cincinnati Bengals are priceless because our hearts produce too much love to put a price on something so precious. Oh, lord.

Because they love money so much, Forbes put a value of $990 million on the Cincinnati Bengals. While it might seem like a lot, it's actually the 27th-most valued franchise according to their yearly valuations -- yes, the NFL is ridiculously rich... especially with an auction-like bid to perform at the Super Bowl. Cincinnati generated $258 million in revenue with an operating income of $12 million.

The Bengals are asking the county to cede them the naming rights to Paul Brown Stadium in exchange for allowing the county to build a nearby apartment building eight to 10 feet higher than the Bengals say is allowed under the team’s stadium lease.

So if anyone has $990 million sitting around, you might have a shot to buy the team. Comparatively speaking, the Bengals ranked 27th last year (2013) at $924 million and 27th again in 2012 at $871 million. And in 2011, Cincinnati ranked 25th at $875 million.

The most valuable team in the NFL this season are the Dallas Cowboys, valued at $3.2 billion. The top five:

1. Dallas Cowboys, $3.2 billion
2. New England Patriots, $2.6 billion
3. Washington Redskins, $2.4 billion
4. New York Giants, $2.1 billion
5. Houston Texans, $1.85 billion