FanPost

Chiefs Franchise Value Ranking: No. 24

Forbes has issued its annual rankings of NFL franchise values, and the Chiefs this year are at No. 24. The Cowboys are again at No. 1, with a whopping $3.2 billion value. The Chiefs are at $1.1 billion, which is not a whole lot more than they’d been for the past several years. The NFL average has jumped quite a bit, meaning all teams are on average valued more.

I think some of the general jump is just in looking at the NBA’s Clippers bought and sold for twice as much as it is really valued. Many NFL observers are seeing that and rightly considering that if the Clippers are worth $2 billion, then those NFL teams should be however much more valuable.

… except the Chiefs.

In 2009 the Chiefs were ranked No. 14 on the list, which made me proud because my team was right there in the top half of the 32, despite being a small-market, Midwest, non-eastern elite team. It was especially striking considering the Chiefs were in the middle of an awful stretch of three years when they won only ten games total.

A lot of the Arrowhead improvements were put in place during that time, and it does seem that stadium accommodations have a substantial part of this measurement. But for the Chiefs to drop from No. 14 at a time when they pretty much sucked to No. 24 when they are actually considered reasonable contenders means something. My considerations are as follows, in no particular order.

- The team plays in that notoriously small-market and has never been able to really capture attention as a media darling. Among the top seven teams ranked on the list are all four teams in the NFC East: Dallas, Washington, New York, and Philadelphia.

- The team has never been able to draft and develop a stable winning quarterback to bring them sustained success. I think Alex Smith is fine, but teams in Indianapolis and Green Bay – no better or bigger or more splendid than KC – rank way higher because they have the best quarterbacks in the NFL. As such they can be showcased as marquee teams.

- The team is abysmal in the playoffs. The Chiefs play great in the hidden-from-the-rest-of-the-world confines of Arrowhead, but every time they play on the big postseason stage, they wilt over and over and over again. I believe this latest embarrassment to the Colts made the perception of the Chiefs as just not very valuable that much more pronounced. It really is about scoreboard.

I can think of a few other things in the mix, but what other things am I not considering as to why the Chiefs rank where they do? Many of the teams below the Chiefs in the rankings have terrible venue issues, have squawked about moving, have unstable front office situations – things that don’t afflict the Chiefs at all.

What’s with the Chiefs?...

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.