Eagles 7th-most valuable franchise

The Eagles are the seventh-most valuable franchise in the NFL, according to Forbes' annual rankings.

The Birds rank behind the following six teams (in order): Cowboys, Redskins, Patriots, Giants, Texans, Jets. Every NFC East team is in the top seven, and the Eagles rank last among the four.

Jeffrey Lurie's franchise is worth $1.1 billion, and the Eagles saw no change in value from a year ago. Only five teams saw an increase in value: the Cowboys, 49ers, Texans, Colts and Saints. The Eagles were one of seven teams whose value did not change. The other 20 teams in the NFL saw their value decrease year-over-year.

The Eagles rank fifth in terms of revenue at $260M. Only the Cowboys, Redskins, Patriots and Texans earned more. The Birds ranked 13th in operating income at $34.7M.

Here's the write-up from Forbes:

The Eagles are off to a fresh start in 2010 after unloading their two biggest offensive stars of the past decade in a trade (QB Donovan McNabb) and an outright release (RB Brian Westbrook). Eagle fans are some of the most loyal in the NFL with season ticket renewals regularly exceeding 99%. The Eagles had the fifth highest revenues in the NFL last year ($260 million) thanks to $40 million in premium seating revenues and a $140 million stadium naming rights deal with Lincoln Financial. Yet with the opening of the New Meadowlands Stadium this year (home to the Giants and Jets), the Eagles will be looking up at all three of their NFC East rivals when it comes to finances. Revenues for the Cowboys, Redskins and Giants will all be among the top five in the NFL in 2010.

And some other notes:

* The Eagles' revenue increased $10M from $250M in 2009.

* The Eagles' player expenses are $141M. That's the highest number in the past decade (which is as far back as the data in the article goes). It's an $18M increase from player expenses in 2009. In 2008, the Eagles were at $131M. That includes benefits and bonuses.

* The Eagles' operating income dropped $14M from $49M in 2009.

* The Eagles ranked 12th in TV ratings, which were based on average rating in local market for regular season games from Nielsen.

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