Forbes Fab 40 Reveals New York Yankees Overtake Manchester United as Most Valuable Sports Club

The New York Yankees have eclipsed Manchester United to number one spot of the Forbes top 40 list for the sports clubs most brand value.

The third Forbes Fab 40, a ranking of the world’s top sports brands, reveals New York Yankees, Tiger Woods, Nike and the Super Bowl are the most valuable names in their respective categories.

Among the top 10 teams this year, the New York Yankees surpassed Manchester United as the most valuable brand. Forbes estimates that New York Yankees name is worth $340 million. Manchester United’s brand value was hurt by the increase in value of the US dollar relative to the British pound. Had the exchange rate held fast since 2007 the Red Devils, who are looking to capitalize on their global fan base with an IPO, would still be the most valuable team brand.

To determine its list, Forbes ranked athletes based on endorsement income relative to peers in their sport; businesses based on the amount of the enterprise’s private market value attributable to its name; teams based on the portion of their overall value not a result of market demographics and league; and events based on revenue generated per day of competition.

Tiger Woods may be struggling on the farways but golf’s most recognisable figure remains the athlete to beat when it comes to brand value.

Tiger may have lost some sponsors with his scandal but that still isn’t enough to derail the American.  Although Tiger’s brand value fell to $55 million from $82 million last year, his brand is still $29 million more valuable than the number two athlete, Roger Federer. In June, Tiger added his first sponsor (Kowa Company) since the scandal broke that ultimately led to his divorce.

The most valuable sporting event brand continues to be the Super Bowl. Event brand values are revenue-per-day averages of the contest or tournament. Super Bowl XLV generated $425 million in revenue from media advertising ($210 million), licensing ($140 million), tickets ($60 million) and its halftime show ($15 million). 

Coming in behind the Super Bowl is the Summer Olympics followed by the FIFA World Cup, baseball’s World Series, the UEFA Champions League, Winter Olympics and Daytona 500 auto race.

As for business brand values, Nike was rated the top sports business brand with ESPN ranked second. 

Forbes estimates that the Nike brand is worth $15 billion, up 40% from last year, while Walt Disney Company’s ESPN, which has increased $1 billion in value since 2010, stands at $11.5 billion.