The annual rankings of NFL team values were released today by Forbes Magazine and the AFC West found its teams in the top 10 and at the very bottom.

The Denver Broncos cracked the top 10 in valuations ranking right at number 10. The team’s value was determined to be at $1.1 billion. Owner Pat Bowlen bought the proud franchise in 1984 for $78 million.

The Kansas City Chiefs were next in line with a valuation of $1 billion which was good enough for a ranking of 14th on the list. The Chiefs are owned by the Lamar Hunt Family who purchased the team in 1960 for $25,000, talk about a return on investment.

San Diego was next on the list for the AFC West with a valuation of $917 million which ranked the Chargers at number 24. Alexander Spanos bought the team in 1984 for $70 million.

Much to the chagrin of the Raider nation, Oakland came in at the bottom of the heap ranked as the 32nd most valued franchise out of 32 teams at $797 million. Al Davis purchased the club in 1966 for a paltry $180,000 so I’m sure this evaluation does not sting too much but is another recent chink in his sliver and black armor.

Although the Raiders are a global brand, bad football on the field and suspect ownership decisions since the Rich Gannon era have put Oakland in a rather dubious standing. It is interesting to note that while the Broncos and Chiefs have not performed on the field as of late, their fan bases have stayed loyal to their teams, but how long will that last without winning. The Chargers are victims of their location as much as anything as to why citizens of the area don’t back them more. With a perfect climate and the ocean, it is easy for the people of San Diego to not get too involved with their team.

Television blackouts may hurt the revenue of three of the AFC West teams this season as well. The division’s best team, San Diego, may be susceptible to blackouts in their local area due to lackluster ticket sales. They did not sell out their preseason finale tonight, thus there will be no television of the game in the local market and some regular season games may suffer the same fate.

Surprisingly the Kansas City Chiefs are in danger of having local blackouts as well. The losing ways of late may have more to do with it than any other factor as they were in danger late last season but did escape the season with zero television blackouts. Arrowhead Stadium is routinely one of the hardest stadiums to play in across the league for opponents. I have a feeling the Chiefs will sellout this season as long as Matt Cassel and the offense progress and show some positive signs early.

The Raiders have routinely suffered blackouts over the last few seasons and this year will be no different. Oakland is severely suffering from poor personal decisions including the drafting of quarterback JaMarcus Russell with the number one overall pick in 2007. The Black Hole is loosing members and the bleeding may not stop for a while, just ask the team across the bay how a dud at number can set back a franchise for years.

The Denver Broncos are the only team in the AFC West to have sold out all of their games this season and continue a consecutive sellout streak that reaches back to the first year of operation in 1960. Although general seating is an easy sell in the Rocky Mountain region, club level and suites have been a different issue but do not have an impact on T.V. blackout restrictions.