The average value of NFL teams has fallen for the first time since Forbes magazine began keeping track in 1998. The average value decreased 2 per cent from last year to US$1.022 billion (Dh3.8bn), though none of the top 12 franchises lost more than 3 per cent. The Dallas Cowboys remained the league's richest team, and widened the gap between themselves and the rest of the NFL. They are now worth $1.805bn. On the other end of the spectrum were the Jacksonville Jaguars, who lost 15 per cent of their value.
The Tennessee Titans are breaking training camp with good news. Derrick Morgan, their top pick, practised with the team for the first time since being drafted. The defensive end missed most of the offseason, first with a strained hamstring, then a pulled left calf. He then pulled that same calf early in his first practice of training camp on August 1. On Thursday he had a walkthrough.
The St Louis wide receiver Donnie Avery injured his right knee late in the first half of the Rams' pre-season victory over New England on Thursday night. Avery, who led Rams wide receivers with 47 catches last year, was hurt at the end of the first half. He jumped for Sam Bradford's long pass down the right sideline, fell and clutched his knee as the ball dropped incomplete.
Gary Brackett, the Indianapolis Colts' defensive captain, left with an injury to his right hand late in the first quarter of Thursday night's game with the Green Bay Packers. Brackett, the starting middle linebacker, was trying to tackle Ryan Grant on a short gain when it appeared that teammate Philip Wheeler came crashing through and hit Brackett's hand with his helmet. * Agencies