The Cowboys' owner could not be reached for comment Tuesday. The NFL's 31 teams equally divide revenue from network television contracts, merchandise sales and national corporate sponsorships. What differentiates them as businesses, for the most part, is revenue from stadium operations and local broadcasting. The Cowboys led the NFL in local revenue from 1995 to 1998, then fell to second in 1999. In five years, the team slipped from fifth to 14th in revenue from ticket sales.
New stadiums are the primary way teams move up the financial rankings.
Of the eight NFL teams with the highest local revenue in 1999, all except the Cowboys are playing in new stadiums. The Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks are building or preparing to build new stadiums. And the New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings are pressing their cities to finance new stadiums. It will seat up to 72,000 and have a retractable roof. On the expense side, the Cowboys are also among the NFL's leaders.