The Kansas City Chiefs are the NFL’s current dynasty — here's why they are worth less than teams that regularly miss the playoffs

Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce from the Kansas City Chiefs are seen enjoying a win in 2022.

David Eulitt, from Getty Images, writes a blog.

The NFL team that has emerged victorious in three out of the past five Super Bowls carries a lower value compared to the organizations that have experienced the two lengthiest postseason dry spells in the league.

The Kansas City Chiefs, who are dominating the NFL right now, are ranked 18th in terms of value among all teams in the league. They are worth $6.07 billion, according to CNBC's latest report on NFL team valuations in 2024.

This means the team's value is much lower than the $7.35 billion New York Jets, who have not made the playoffs since 2010. The team is also ranked below the $6.2 billion Denver Broncos, who have not played in the postseason since 2015 and have a poor record against the Chiefs since 2019.

However, qualifying for the playoffs, and even excelling in them, doesn't result in as much revenue increase for a team as one would anticipate.

Most of a team's money for a season comes from the increasing fees that the NFL charges for broadcasting their games. In 2023, each team made an average of over $350 million from these fees, which makes up more than half of the yearly income for most NFL teams. The Chiefs made $590 million in revenue in the last season. This information was reported and analyzed by CNBC.

Moreover, the majority of the money brought in from selling tickets for postseason games goes straight to the league in order to pay for various costs. Although the home team does receive some compensation, it's not a significant amount compared to the total ticket sales. For example, the Chiefs have hosted playoff games 10 times in the past five years, but they don't see much profit from the ticket sales. In comparison, other leagues such as the NBA and NHL give a larger portion of the playoff ticket revenue to the teams themselves.

Having control over stadiums can bring in a lot of money for NFL teams. Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, has shown how to make a lot of money by having exclusive rights to the stadium. Sponsorship deals and events not related to football at AT&T Stadium bring in a significant amount of revenue that Jones gets to keep for himself.

The Chiefs are currently unable to use that playbook. This is because they rent Arrowhead Stadium from the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority. Because of this arrangement, the Chiefs, owned by the Lamar Hunt family, are not able to generate additional revenue like the Cowboys and the Los Angeles Rams.

Additionally, Arrowhead Stadium is over 50 years old, which means it lacks the extensive sponsorship and advertising options available at newer stadiums like Allegiant Stadium for the Las Vegas Raiders and SoFi Stadium for the Los Angeles Rams.

The Chiefs' owners wanted to update Arrowhead Stadium, but this year, voters in Jackson County said no to the tax increase that would pay for the changes.

The top executives of the Chiefs have established a deadline of 2024 to determine their course of action for when their current lease agreement with the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority ends in 2031.

However, making it to the playoffs and achieving success can still improve a team's economic situation, although not immediately in the same year as the playoffs.

Several reasons contribute to the selling of tickets, but one way to increase prices is by having a superior record. In the 2023 season, the Chiefs charged an average of $131.81 per ticket, which is higher than the league average of $120.94, as reported by Statista.

Teams that consistently make it to the playoffs can also be more appealing to sponsors because they can promise a high number of fans attending games each year.

The Chiefs were the first team to play in the season opener of the NFL, and they won against the Baltimore Ravens with a score of 27-20.