Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Friday, February 7th.

Today on Forbes, meet the billionaire owner of the Philadelphia Eagles.

When Jeffrey Lurie bought the Philadelphia Eagles for $185 million in 1994,

mortgaging his family's fortune to get the deal done, he faced his share of criticism.

Recalling that the deal made the front page of the newspaper, the 73-year-old billionaire told Forbes

this week, quote, The Wall Street Journal said it was the dumbest investment of the year.

To be fair, the publication had plenty of reasons to make that claim. Back then, the Eagles' home,

veteran stadium, was infested with rats and falling apart. Their practice facility was in a

similar, if not worse, state of disrepair. The organization's football operations and scouting

departments had struggled, letting future Hall of Fame defensive lineman Reggie White leave for the Green Bay Packers in 1993,

and whiffing on his replacement, Leonard Renfro, with a first-round draft pick that same year.

Thirty years later, however, the Eagle's struggles are a distant memory.

Lurie transformed the franchise, delivering a new

stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, which opened in 2003, and establishing a winning culture.

Philadelphia claimed a Super Bowl title in 2018 and returned to the big game in 2023,

falling just short against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Now, the Eagles have a shot at redemption and their second-ever Lombardi Trophy,

as they once again face the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans on Sunday.

Regardless of the game's outcome, Lurie is already a winner.

The Eagles are the eighth most valuable franchise in the NFL

and the 12th most valuable team from any sport at $6.6 billion by Forbes's count, an astonishing

3500% return on their owner's initial investment. That mark could be even higher after Lurie

...