Five trips to Super Bowls in six years. Patrick Mahomes at the helm. You’d think the Kansas City Chiefs would be sitting at the top of every NFL power list off the field, too, right? Well, surprise — they’re not.

This year, Mahomes carries a different kind of pressure. The kind that leaves no room for “almost.” So when The Athletic tweeted about Sportico’s latest NFL franchise valuations, the numbers hit quite like a scoreboard check—the way nobody in Kansas City wanted. The Dallas Cowboys held their familiar spot at the top. Creeping toward the $13 billion mark with an official value of $12.8B.

The Chiefs? Sixteenth, at $6.53B. A gap that basically serves as a reminder that even with three Lombardi trophies in the Mahomes era, power still tilts toward Dallas. There’s a lot you can clown the Dallas Cowboys for – consider, for example, ranking dead last in red zone scoring in 2024. But being broke? Yeah, that’s never been their problem. Jerry Jones bought the team for $140 million back in 1989. Fast-forward to now, and Sportico’s new valuation means that investment has increased by a massive 9,043%.

Kansas City, for all its winning, did climb two spots from last year — but that’s where the champagne stops popping. Apparently, Super Bowls don’t help as much with your franchise value. The Cowboys, Giants, and Patriots? All names ahead of the Chiefs. Even the Falcons are sitting at 13th with a $7.05 billion tag. The Texans — yes, the Texans — are at $7.17 billion. And somehow, even the Commanders cracked the top 10 at $7.47 billion, despite Dan Snyder leaving the brand in an alarming chaos.

And that only turns up the volume on Kansas City’s expectations for 2025. Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame didn’t bother sugarcoating it during an appearance on KC Sports Network. “I think there is a lot of pressure on him,” he said of Mahomes. “I get the whole ‘the line sucked’ and ‘they didn’t play good receivers,’ but… he was not good by his standards.” That’s the point. Mahomes, as brilliant as he is, didn’t look like a three-time Super Bowl MVP down the stretch. Verderame’s verdict? Simple: “He’s gotta be great.” Nothing less than another Super Bowl will pass.

Patrick Mahomes is leading a Chiefs camp already torn

Kansas City didn’t just lose football games last season—they lost their grip on the league. Rashee Rice went down in the preseason after colliding with Patrick Mahomes, and from there, the dominoes fell. Hollywood Brown was a ghost. Travis Kelce looked mortal. The offensive line leaked like a bad roof, leaving Mahomes falling. Especially in a Super Bowl where the Chiefs didn’t score until the 43rd minute.

For a team aiming at a three-peat, it felt less like a bad break. More like a closing chapter. Andy Reid knew it, and so he didn’t wait around. This offseason has been a hard reset. Joe Thuney’s exit blew open the left side of the line, but Kansas City fixed it with Jaylon Moore from San Francisco and Tremayne Anchrum from Houston. Add in second-year burner Xavier Worthy and rookie Jalen Royals, a fourth-round steal, and the firepower is there. But it’s already been a rough start to training camp for the Kansas City Chiefs, with injuries piling up before the pads were even fully broken in.

The first wave saw CB Kristian Fulton, RB Jawaan Taylor, and rookie Tre Watson sidelined. Two made it back, but one didn’t. Tight end Jake Briningstool hit the PUP list shortly after, and by the time the latest round of setbacks came, the roster was already stretched thin. Rookie LB Jeff Bassa (ankle), S Deon Bush (hamstring), and CB Eric Scott (hamstring) all missed time, leaving the Chiefs scrambling for healthy bodies. Maybe surviving camp’s chaos will be the first real win of their season.