Dallas Cowboys

Lore & Background

The Cowboys joined the NFL as an expansion team. The team's national following might best be represented by its NFL record of consecutive sellouts. The Cowboys' streak of 190 consecutive sold out regular and postseason games (home and away) began in 2002. The franchise has made it to the Super Bowl eight times, tying it with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, and San Francisco 49ers for second-most Super Bowl appearances in history behind the New England Patriots' record 11 appearances. Their eight NFC championships are tied for most in the conference's history. The Cowboys are the only NFL team to record 20 straight winning seasons (from 1966 to 1985) during which they missed the playoffs only twice (1974 and 1984).

In Their Own Story

The air inside AT&T Stadium is thick with humidity and anticipation as the lights cut through the Texas night. The crowd roars, a sea of blue and silver, but the opposing sideline in red and black stands stoic. As the ball is snapped for what feels like the thousandth time between these two giants, the roar of the crowd fades into a singular focus on the gridiron. It is not just about points; it is about legacy, about proving who truly rules the East.

Reader's Guide

Prior to the formation of the Dallas Cowboys, there had not been an NFL team south of Washington, D.C. since the Dallas Texans folded in 1952 after only one season. Two businessmen had tried and failed to get Dallas a team in the NFL: Lamar Hunt responded by forming the American Football League with a group of owners, which would spur the NFL to expand beyond twelve teams. Oilman Clint Murchison Jr. persisted with his intent to bring a team to Dallas, but George Preston Marshall, owner of the Washington Redskins, had a monopoly in the South. Murchison had tried to purchase the Washington Redskins from Marshall in 1958 with the intent of moving them to Dallas. An agreement was struck, but as the deal was about to be finalized, Marshall called for a change in terms, which infuriated Murchison, and he called off the deal. Marshall then opposed any franchise for Murchison in Dallas. Since NFL expansion needed unanimous approval from team owners at that time, Marshall's position would prevent Murchison from joining the league. Marshall had a falling out with the Redskins band leader Barnee Breeskin, who had written the music to the Redskins fight song 'Hail to the Redskins', and Marshall's wife had penned the lyrics. Breeskin owned the rights to the song and was aware of Murchison's plight to get an NFL franchise. Angry with Marshall, Breeskin approached Murchison's attorney to sell him the rights to the song before the expansion vote in 1959: Murchison subsequently purchased 'Hail to the Redskins' for $2,500. Before the vote to award franchises in 1959, Murchison revealed to Marshall that he now owned the song, and barred Marshall from playing it during games. After Marshall launched an expletive-laced tirade, Murchison sold the rights to 'Hail to the Redskins' back to Marshall in exchange for his vote, the lone one against Murchison getting a franchise at that time, and a rivalry was born. Murchison hired CBS Sports executive and former Los Angeles Rams general manager Tex Schramm as team president and general manager, San Francisco 49ers scout Gil Brandt as head of player personnel, and New York Giants defensive coordinator Tom Landry as head coach, thus forming a triumvirate that would lead the Cowboys' football operations for three decades.

Did You Know?

• In 2015, the Dallas Cowboys became the first sports team to be valued at $4 billion, making it the most valuable sports team in the world, according to Forbes.
• In 2016, the Cowboys also became the most valuable sports team at $4 billion, a record they have held since by also being the first sports team to reach a worth of $10 billion dollars.
• As of late 2025, the Cowboys are valued at about $13 billion.
• The Cowboys also generated $620 million in revenue in 2014, a record for a U.S. sports team.
• In 2018, they also became the first NFL franchise to be valued at $5 billion and making Forbes' list as the most valued NFL team for the 12th straight year.

Historical Trajectory and Divisional Dynamics

The Cowboys–Giants rivalry, established in 1960 when Dallas joined the NFL's Eastern Division, represents a unique geographical anomaly where no other Texas team shares a division with a New York franchise. Initially dominated by the Giants, the balance of power shifted dramatically as the Giants entered a prolonged playoff drought from 1964 to 1980. During this era, particularly throughout the 1970s, Dallas seized control, winning seventeen of twenty meetings against their rivals. The dynamic reversed in the 1980s when New York struck back, leading to a more evenly matched contest that has persisted with intermittent dominance swings through the decades. While the Giants held an advantage during the 2000s and early 2010s, recent history has favored Dallas significantly; since 2013, the Cowboys have won twenty of the last twenty-six matchups. Despite this overall series lead of 78–48–2 for Dallas, the two teams have met only once in the playoffs, a singular postseason encounter where the Giants secured a perfect 1–0 record against their divisional foe.