Unlike their divisional rivals Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints, the Atlanta Falcons have never won the ultimate prize in American football. They have the unfortunate distinction of being the oldest sports franchise to not win a single championship, and they haven't shown any signs of ending that pattern anytime soon.
Since joining the National Football League in 1966, the Falcons have made just two trips to the Super Bowl, losing 34-19 to the Denver Broncos in 1999. It would take another 18 years before they returned to the Big Game, relinquishing a 28-3 lead and losing to the New England Patriots in heartbreaking fashion.
The Falcons would bounce back by returning to the playoffs in January 2018, defeating the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Round before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the following round. Since then, the Falcons have gone through seven consecutive losing seasons, failing to reach the postseason on every single occasion.
Falcons Continue to Grow in Franchise Value Despite Lack of Success
However, their lack of success hasn't prevented them from growing financially and emerging as one of the most valued assets in sports. Boasting a net value of $5.2 billion, the Falcons are the 29th-most valuable franchise in the world, with NFL teams Cleveland Browns ($5.15 billion) and Los Angeles Chargers ($5.1 billion) and Premier League powerhouse Manchester City ($5.1 billion) trailing just behind, according to Forbes magazine's list.
There are a total of 17 NFL teams that boast a higher value than the Falcons on the Forbes list. The annual list was launched in 2010, with English soccer outfit Manchester United finishing atop the rankings in each of the first three years before being surpassed by Spanish soccer heavyweights Real Madrid.
After three uninterrupted years at the top of the standings, Real Madrid were supplanted by the Dallas Cowboys as the world's richest franchise in 2016, who have remained at the apex ever since. 2017 would see Forbes expand the list from 10 teams to 50, with the Falcons coming in at 33rd with a net value of $2.13 billion, before climbing to 29th in 2018 (2.475 billion) and 28th in 2019 (2.6 billion).
Despite increasing their value to $2.755 billion, they dropped to 31st in the table in 2020 and 36th in 2021 ($2.88 billion), before enjoying a meteoric rise the following year and shooting up to 27th ($4 billion). The Falcons' worth rose to $4.7 billion in 2023, before dropping from 26th to 29th in the standings in 2024.
It remains to be seen whether or not the Falcons will finally put an end to their postseason drought, but all signs point to them increasing their value by the time the next edition rolls around. The Falcons boast a revenue of $585 million, an operating income of $94 million, as well as $84 million from gate receipts. And whilst they are spending $317 million on player expenses, they nevertheless have a debt/value ratio of 18% and a win-to-player cost ratio of 72.
Thanks to their loyal fan base, which generates roughly $29 per fan, as well as their state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which seats 75,000 people, the Falcons will continue to increase their stock portfolio and build their assets. Whether they can finally return to the playoffs, however, is another story.