The American Money Machine

That's particularly important on the field. "It truly is a marathon, and there are lots of ups and downs. You have to support the people you believe in, especially when things aren't going well," he says. In 2000 Kraft hired Belichick, the coach he had wanted to sign a year earlier. It cost him a first-round draft pick to pry Belichick loose from the Jets. Belichick promptly lost 13 of his first 18 games, but he eventually delivered two Super Bowl titles over the past three years.

Belichick defines the 21st century NFL coach: tech savvy, detail oriented and passionate about personnel — a mini-CEO in his realm. New England spends inordinate amounts of time evaluating playersand not just assessing athletic talent. It looks for personalities that fit into New England's system, which is not star driven. A head coach today, Tagliabue explains, is "someone who is effectively an executive investing half a billion dollars in the next five years." That's the amount of money each coach will have to spend on players over that period, and the salary cap prevents any team from buying its way out of bad choices. Just ask the Washington Redskins, whose owner, Snyder, has been driven to distraction by his team's lack of success on the field, even though his franchise is now worth an estimated $1 billion.

If the NFL were a stock, it would command a high P/E. It has a predictable cash flow, great cost control, good management and an insane demand for its product. But as Bowlen points out, none of that is of any interest to Broncos fans. "They couldn't care less if I make a dollar or $10 million. All they care about is winning the Super Bowl." Maybe the NFL should print a warning label on its tickets: Customer satisfaction not guaranteed.