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The Detroit Lions are valued at $2.1 billion, but if the team could find success on the field — and, dare we say, win a Super Bowl — its net worth would skyrocket.
“S
ame Old Lions” is a refrain heard on sports talk radio programs many Mondays during most football seasons. It means the boys in Honolulu blue and silver have found yet another creative way to lose a game and break fans’ hearts. But they’re not the same old Lions, not by a long shot. When the Detroit Lions were acquired on Nov. 22, 1963, by the late William Clay Ford Sr. during a meeting at the downtown Statler Hotel, the price tag was $6 million. Today, Detroit’s National Football League franchise is worth $2.1 billion, according to Forbes. As great an investment as Ford’s $6 million appears to be, of the 14 teams that were in the NFL at the time, the Lions are now ranked last; they’re 30th of the 32 teams currently playing. By contrast, the Dallas Cowboys lead the league at $5.7 billion, followed by the New York Giants at $4.3 billion, and the San Francisco 49ers at $3.8 billion. That Detroit is the nation’s 14th-ranked
BY TIM KEENAN media market, with 1.7 million homes, is a factor in the team’s value. The No. 1 market, New York, has 7.1 million homes, while No. 2 Los Angeles has 5.2 million homes. Also playing a role is the team’s performance on the field. Since 1964, the Ford family’s first full season of ownership, the Lions are the only team that was in the league at the time that hasn’t been to its championship game, the Super Bowl. The team’s record since 1964, going into the 2020 season, was 314-455-15. The team’s performance in 2020 cost General Manager Bob Quinn and Head Coach Matt Patricia their jobs in late November. By contrast, the Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers have each been to the big game eight times. The 49ers have been there seven times. The Washington football team, the Giants, and the Green Bay Packers each have made five Super Bowl appearances. Even the St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals have played on the game’s biggest stage. The Lions’ first campaign under the Ford
family’s ownership in 1964 resulted in a 7-5-2 win-loss-tie record. The team’s best season was in 1991, under head coach Wayne Fontes, when it went 12-4 and beat the Cowboys 38-6 in the team’s only playoff victory since 1957. Ultimately, the Lions succumbed to Washington 41-10 in the NFC Championship Game, one game away from the Super Bowl. The Lions’ overall playoff record during the period of Ford ownership is 1-12. In that time, the Lions have had 18 head coaches and eight general managers, including Russ Thomas (1967-1988) and Matt Millen (2001-2008), who most sports talk radio pundits say are the worst two GMs in NFL history. Many people think that perhaps management is to blame for the team’s relatively low value. “I’ve interacted with (Detroit Lions) people on the business side and they’re solid,” says Michael Dietz, CEO of Dietz Sports and Entertainment in Farmington Hills. “They have a lot of talented employees. They make the sales calls and they compete for the entertainment dollar in a competitive market.
COURTESY OF THE DETORIT LIONS
MEGATRON The Detroit Lions’ franchise value increased from $917 million to $1.4 billion while star receiver Calvin Johnson was catching passes for the team.
26 DBUSINESS || JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2021