The Cardinals are valued at an estimated $961 million according to Forbes.
Forbes this week released the top 50 most valuable sports franchises, of which 30 are from the NFL. The Cardinals come in at No. 40.
The Cardinals were No. 39 last year, when they were valued at $922 million.
"The team's stadium naming rights deal with University of Phoenix is one of largest in NFL, worth $154.5 million over 20 years," Forbes wrote last year.
The valuation is only an estimate. The sale of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks earlier this year exceeded the Forbes valuation, as did the pending sale of the L.A. Clippers.
The top franchise on this year's list is the soccer club Real Madrid, valued at $3.44 billion; the top three are all soccer clubs. The top non-soccer franchise is the New York Yankees, worth $2.5 billion, at No. 4. The top NFL team is the Dallas Cowboys at No. 5, coming in at $2.3 billion. The Patriots, Redskins and Giants also are in the top 10.
Among NFC West teams, the San Francisco 49ers ($1.224 billion) are 20th, the Seattle Seahawks ($1.081 billion) are 28th and the St. Louis Rams ($875 million) are 45th.
