Football clubs dominate brand valuation study
26 Oct 2012
Europe’s leading football clubs dominate a new report detailing the brand values of major sports teams worldwide, with Manchester United leading the way with a valuation of US$852 million.
Brand Finance, a leading brand valuation consultancy, has compiled a list of the world’s 250 most valuable sports teams, including football clubs and teams from the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB) and cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL). European football provides the four most valuable sports team brands in the shape of United, Bayern Munchen ($785 million), Real Madrid ($599 million) and FC Barcelona ($580 million). However, the report details that on average football brands are less valuable than those from the NFL. The total value of all 32 NFL team brands is $9.1 billion whilst the total for the 32 most valuable football brands is just $7.3 billion.
Brand Finance states that this shows how polarised football clubs have become in terms of wealth, reputation and prestige. This disparity can be quantified using the Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality which represents perfect equality as 0% and total inequality as 100%. The results show that football is by far the most unequal with a figure of 45.01%. In contrast the coefficient for the 32 teams of the NFL is 18.26%. MLB, the NBA and NHL have coefficients of 18.27%, 22.39% and 31.28% respectively.
Brand Finance CEO, David Haigh, said: “Some may see this as further evidence of the need for financial fair play rules in football, to cap the wage inflation that has created such a gulf in both performance and in financial sustainability. Others will note with interest that while the US is usually seen as the home of free-market capitalism and Europe generally more committed to equality and redistribution, on the sports field the opposite appears to be true. While billions of dollars can be freely spent on the Presidential election campaign, (Denver Broncos quarterback) Peyton Manning’s jersey must remain logo-free.” The remainder of the top-10 most valuable sports team brands is dominated by NFL franchises beginning with the Dallas Cowboys ($510 million), followed by the New England Patriots ($499 million), New York Giants ($471 million), Green Bay Packers ($460 million) and the Pittsburgh Steelers ($410 million). MLB’s New York Yankees come in 10th with a valuation of $397 million.
