There was plenty of speculation surrounding the Rams franchise when they decided to make the move from St. Louis to Los Angeles this past off-season. Whether or not Los Angeles and their fans would embrace the franchise after having 22 years to pledge their loyalties to other teams was completely up in the air.
However, one thing owner Stan Kroenke seemed to be sure of was that the move to Los Angeles had the potential to be one of the most lucrative decisions that the former real estate tycoon could make. Now, it seems to already be paying off as the Rams have now become one of the most valuable franchises in the entire league.
Forbes recently released their annual rankings of the most valuable franchises in the NFL, which featured Los Angeles at the sixth spot on the list with an estimated worth of $2.9 billion:
Thanks in part to their decision to relocate from small market St. Louis to the City of Angels, the Rams’ value has doubled to $2.9 billion, the Rams. In fact, relocation and new stadiums in general drove NFL team values 19% higher over the past year, to an average of $2.34 billion.
The news should not come as much a surprise given the Rams already had a steady fan base in the second-largest market in the nation. With the Oakland Raiders or the San Diego Chargers also waiting to see how their perspective stadium situations play out, a move to Los Angeles just got a little more enticing.
Other teams that came in before the Rams in terms of worth were the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, New York Giants and 49ers.
