Major honours
NFL Films tagged them 'America's Team' in a 1978 highlight reel, and the nickname stuck — making the Cowboys among the most loved and most hated in the league. Tom Landry coached from the inaugural season through 1988, posting 20 consecutive winning seasons from 1966 to 1985 and winning Super Bowls VI and XII. The 1990s triangle of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin took Super Bowls XXVII, XXVIII, and XXX in four years. Since then came a long plateau: no NFC Championship Game from the end of 1995 through 2024–25. Business value kept climbing — Forbes valued the franchise at $10.1 billion in 2024, the first pro sports team past $10 billion. AT&T Stadium, opened in 2009, holds more than 100,000 with standing room.
Record comparison
Bars are scaled to the strongest team in this list.
Club legends
Rivalry
The Washington rivalry began in the franchise's first season in 1960 and was cemented nationally through Thanksgiving games, shaping the NFC East template. The Philadelphia Eagles feud intensified in the 21st century, with division standing often reading as the whole season's verdict.