How much are the Dallas Cowboys Worth?

History of the Dallas Cowboys

Long before Jones became the owner of the Cowboys, they were a bit of a laughing stock. The Cowboys went 0-10-1 in their inaugural season in 1960 and didn't have a winning season until 1966. Cowboys head coach Tom Landry joined the team in 1960, but it took a few years to build a winning culture.

In that '66 season, the Cowboys lost to the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship Game. The Cowboys would go on to make a record eight consecutive postseason appearances and won Super Bowls VI and XII.

The Cowboys were dubbed "America's Team" in 1978 during a highlight video. It was later referenced in the 1979 season opener, and it stuck. Landry would go on to lead the team to a 270-178 record from 1960-1988. Jones bought the team in 1989, and a new era was about to come into focus.

Dallas Cowboys were the Team of the 1990s

One of the first things Jones did when he took control of the team was replace Landry with Miami Hurricanes head coach Jimmy Johnson, whom he played with in college at Arkansas. The Cowboys were thin on talent but had just taken Irvin in the 1988 NFL Draft. Fresh off a national championship in '87, Johnson was a young, flamboyant coach that had a history of managing big personalities. They also took Aikman No. 1 overall in the draft and fullback Daryl "Moose" Johnston in the second round. Quarterback Steve Walsh was taken in the supplemental draft, but he was later flipped for draft picks. One of those picks turned out to be stalwart left tackle Erik Williams.

They went 1-15 in '89, and Aikman threw nine touchdowns to 18 interceptions. During the season, the Cowboys made a massive move to trade running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings. The deal included eight picks overall, and three of those were first-round picks. Dallas forfeited a first-round pick to take Walsh. One of the picks they acquired from Minnesota, No. 17 overall, was used on a running back that would torpedo the NFL record book in Smith.

Aikman, Smith and Irvin would go on to win the Super Bowl in the 1992 and 1993 seasons under Johnson. However, a rift developed between Jones and Johnson, and the latter resigned before the 1994 season. Jones hired former University of Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer, and the Cowboys went 12-4 that season. They fell in the NFC Championship Game to the eventual-champion San Francisco 49ers, who made a big splash by acquiring cornerback Deion Sanders from Atlanta.

That offseason, the Cowboys made a bigger splash picking up Sanders and playing him on both sides of the ball. They went on to win the Super Bowl in the 1995 season. But that is the last time the Cowboys have reached the Super Bowl.

The Cowboys have failed to have much postseason success since then. They are just 5-13 in the playoffs since 1996. However, they have remained one of the most prominent and valuable franchises in all of sports.