'Forbes' Ranks the World's Most Valuable Sports Brands

Forbes has ranked the 10 most valuable sports brands in the world ranging between four different categories: businesses, events, athletes and teams. Known as the “Fab Forty,” these brands all exhibit similar traits, which, according to Forbes includes how much monetary premium the brand name commands. This list doesn’t rank how much these brands are worth, but rather how much value the brand name contributes overall. Each category is ranked from a different methodology, read more about how the list was compiled over at Forbes. We’ve listed the top 5 from each category here:

Business

1. Nike ($26 billion USD)
2. ESPN ($17 billion USD)
3. adidas ($6.2 billion USD)
4. Under Armour ($5 billion USD)
5. Sky Sports ($4.6 billion USD)

Events

1. Super Bowl ($580 million USD)
2. Summer Olympics ($348 million USD)
3. Winter Olympics ($285 million USD)
4. FIFA World Cup ($229 million USD)
5. WrestleMania ($170 million USD)

Athletes

1. Tiger Woods ($30 Million USD)
2. Phil Mickelson ($28 million USD)
3. (tie) LeBron James ($27 million USD)
3. (tie) Roger Federer ($27 million)
4. Mahendra Singh Dhoni ($21 million)

Teams

1. New York Yankees ($661 million USD)
2. Los Angeles Lakers ($521 million USD)
3. Dallas Cowboys ($497 million USD)
4. New England Patriots ($465 million USD)
5. Real Madrid ($464 million USD)