Manchester United still the world’s most valuable sports franchise

Article by Ian Palmer

Whenever the value of sports franchises and player salaries is concerned, people always look to Forbes Magazine as the be all and end all of information.  According to Forbes, English Premier League soccer club Manchester United is again ranked as the world’s most valuable sports franchise at $2.23 billion. Another European soccer team, Spain’s Real Madrid comes in second at $1.88 billion.

Manchester United fans may also be able to own a piece of the action soon as its owners, the Glazer
Family, are planning on listing the club on the New York Stock Exchange in the near future. The Glazers are an American family who also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. The family paid about $1.47 billion and took it off of the London Stock Exchange in 2005.

The Glazers will retain control of the franchise after it goes public by utilizing dual-class shares. The team has a $663 million debt and selling shares is seen as a good way to reduce it. United has several lucrative sponsorship deals and that’s one of the reasons it’s worth so much. For instance, Aon is paying the club $31 million each year to have its name placed on the front of the squad’s shirts and DHL Express is shelling out approximately $62 million over four years to sponsor their practice shirts. In addition, Nike takes care of the club’s merchandise sales which sees United rake in at least $39 million more each year.

But while soccer teams may be the most valuable individual franchises, all of the 32 NFL clubs make Forbes list of the top 50 with the teams being worth an average of $1.04 billion. The Dallas Cowboys lead the way as they’re valued at $1.85 billion and are tied for third place on the overall list with Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees. Many NFL teams could see their value rise soon since the league’s new 10-year collective bargaining agreement was signed and more money is being made on television broadcasting rights.
Players will be receiving just 48 per cent of total revenues with the new deal while they were previously earning 54 per cent. In addition, the broadcasting rights pay about $5 billion per year for the next nine seasons, which is about a 62 per cent increase from the previous deal.

There are seven MLB franchises in the top 50 while there are just two NBA franchises and no NHL clubs.

There are two Formula 1 racing teams on the list though. The Los Angeles Lakers top the NBA clubs as they’re worth $900 million which is good for number 35. They have increased in value by 40 per cent and jumped up 13 spots from last year. This is mainly due to a huge increase in broadcasting deals. The New York Knicks are listed at number 43 and are worth $780 million. The Ferrari F! team was rated at $1.1 billion and 15th while McLaren is worth $800 million.

But while soccer, baseball, football, and Formula 1 teams make up the list of top 50 most valuable sports franchises, boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao were the top-paid athletes of 2011. Mayweather made $85 million over the last 12 months with none of it coming from endorsements while Pacquiao cashed checks for $62 million, with $6 million being for endorsements.