And the Winner Is…Manchester United!

Man U is no stranger to hearing those words, but this competition takes place on the balance sheet and not on the pitch.

That’s right, Forbes has just released their annual list of the world’s most valuable sports franchises and at the top of the list is a proper football club, Manchester United.

Unfortunately, the list is in that abomination of the internet known as a picture slide show – so I’ve done you the courtesy of reprinting the top 10 here for you.

1. Manchester United
2. Dallas Cowboys
3. Washington Redskins
4. New England Patriots
5. New York Yankees
6. Real Madrid
7. Arsenal
8. New York Giants
9. New York Jets
10. Houston Texans

There can be no question that as a single sports league, the NFL of American Football has no competition when it comes to making money!

I’ve said this before, NFL Football is a “perfect storm” of marketing, television, and pageantry and there is not a better suited sport in the world to feed the fancy of the typical indolent American than this.

I’m trying to be nice, but just have a look at the picture Forbes picked to show off the Houston Texans if you want a chuckle…these guys aren’t backing away from the buffet line any time soon!



But I digress...anyway, enjoy the list.

Bad economies may actually bolster football's place on television

Check out Martin Rogers' October 20th piece on yahoo.com called, "The price for keeping soccer recession-proof."

In his article, Martin contends that the economic downturn may prove to be perfect tonic for many of the leagues as they enter negotiations for television deals. Many big TV sponsors are closing their checkbooks so the networks are looking at sure bets. You and I know there is almost no surer bet than the global viewing audience for football!

Martin explains, "Several key television rights deals are up for negotiation in the coming weeks and months, and with television companies looking for value like never before, the big leagues and competitions are actually in a stronger position than in buoyant economic times. The networks are looking for guaranteed winners, programs which are certain to attract advertisers.

The English Premier League will rake in megabillions when its deal for the 2010 through 2013 seasons is revamped. The German Bundesliga can also expect to outstrip all previous deals in that country with a long-term agreement for live rights and highlights packages. And despite concerns of whether Poland and Ukraine will be ready to stage Euro 2012, the TV rights will sell for huge money following the success of Euro 2008 as a spectacle."

Read the complete article at yahoo.com.

Top 25 most valuable soccer clubs - April 2008

In this era of massive valuation shifts in industries and economies across the globe, I thought it might be prudent to capture - at least for posterity - the Forbes 2008 list of most valuable football clubs. The original article is here, courtesy of Forbes magazine.

Rank | Team | Country | Value in $US Millions

1 Manchester United -England 1,800
2 Real Madrid -Spain 1,285
3 Arsenal -England 1,200
4 Liverpool -England 1,050
5 Bayern Munich -Germany 917
6 AC Milan -Italy 798
7 Barcelona -Spain 784
8 Chelsea -England 764
9 Juventus -Italy 510
10 Schalke 04 -Germany 470
11 AS Roma -Italy 434
12 Tottenham Hotspur -England 414
13 Olympique Lyonnais -France 408
14 Inter Milan -Italy 403
15 Borussia Dortmund -Germany 323
16 Newcastle United -England 300
17 Hamburg SV -Germany 293
18 Werder Bremen -Germany 262
19 Valencia -Spain 254
20 Celtic -Scotland 227
21 Everton -England 197
22 West Ham United -England 195
23 Manchester City -England 191
24 Aston Villa -England 190
25 Olympique Marseille -France 187

Fiscal responsibility may be the new price of admission for UEFA tournaments

As the global financial crises mounts, UEFA is suggesting that they will use their considerable clout - in the form of UEFA tournaments - to force responsibility on to clubs in each of the participating organizations.

Currently, the only financial requirements for clubs entering UEFA competitions is that they do not owe money to other clubs and that they pay their staff.

However, today Michel Platini suggested that a new set of entry criteria be imposed; to include a tightening of the licensing requirements for UEFA competitions such that competing clubs are forced to declare their debt and outline their repayment plans.

It should be no surprise that EPL dominance over Champion's league contests may be in jeapordy given this move, considering that more than two thirds of the 3.5 billion pounds of debt in the Premiership is attributed to this year's four Champions League clubs - Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal.

Fiscal responsibility and smart debt management is critical in professional soccer so I tend to like UEFA's incentive approach to the problem. This is not a punishment for debt spending; rather, a means to force a needed behaviour. To paraphrase the great US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, UEFA's plan may be just the antiseptic sunshine that the European leagues, particularly the EPL, need to keep their debt infections from turning deadly.

The credit crises bleeds over to international football

What started out as my personal joke - putting the letters "USA" over the "AIG" which adorns Manchester United's shirts - has now turned in to a newly piqued interest in the business of soccer.

Fresh on the heals of the AIG collapse last month (among others), financial markets the world over have been losing enormous volumes of value and the impact of the global credit crunch is starting to show itself in the FA.

Yesterday, the Football Association's Lord David Triesman warned of the "very tangible dangers" faced by English Premier League clubs, whose combined debt he put at three billion pounds.

But to follow that up, an article in The Independent has Professor Tom Cannon, a football finance expert from the University of Liverpool, warning that the capital bubble funded by deep debt will soon burst unless drastic action is taken.

"I don't think there's an immediate crisis," he said, but continued "there is a deep and profoundly worrying issue across the board.

"Lord Triesman is right to point out the level of debt which, if anything, I think he's under-estimated - it wouldn't surprise me if it was more like £3.5billion," he continued.

So what does that mean to how football clubs in England operate? Professor Cannon goes on to explain the central looming problem:

"The likely interest charges are probably at least £70-120m a year, possibly up to £150m, and that exceeds the profitability of the English Premiership.

"They owe more than they're worth and the interest payments alone exceed their profits - that position is just not sustainable."

Stay tuned for more.

When is a Million Dollars, Not a Million Dollars? Here Comes the SuperLiga Math

Before last night's exciting finale of an otherwise hot and cold 2008 SuperLiga tournament, officials had been talking up the "one million dollar purse" quite a bit.

Of course in most American professional sports, one million dollars is a drop in the bucket, but (sadly) to the average MLS team, that's no small chunk of change.

So a one million dollar prize was earmarked for the winners of the 2008 SuperLiga. Here is where things get interesting. Unlike last year's tournamenet, two MLS teams were in the final and used that opportunity to send a message.

The day before the final, players from both Houston and New England agreed to split the prize money evenly no matter who won!

Why and what was the message about?

Here comes the research. According to the MLS Players Union, players made the decision in protest of what they see as the league’s violation of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with respect to the negotiation of bonuses for SuperLiga.

Let's look back at last year's tournament. The Dynamo players and management had worked out a deal for additional bonus' within their team; however, MLS brass prohibited them from implementing their structure. The Dynamo filed a grievance contesting the decision which has yet to be settled.

Apparently, MLS caps the amount of SuperLiga bonus money a team may share with players at 15% of the prize money. So in the SuperLiga winner’s case, $150,000 out of the $1 million winner's purse.

But as a result of the two teams' gentleman's agreement, according to an article in the Houston Chronicle, "...each side will get $25,000 regardless of the result, with each team splitting $125,000 in total bonus money among its players."

The article continues, "the union contends the current CBA allows players to negotiate additional bonus structures for competitions such as SuperLiga. MLS says otherwise. An arbitrator is expected to rule on the matter this year."

Naturally, league officials were not keen on the timing of the players coup, but players believed this move was a show of solidarity that was necessary as they seek fair compensation.

I see it as part of the growth process. As MLS continues to gain fans, these types of aches and pains are inevitable, and the league is in the unenviable position of balancing fiscal viability with the critically important components of longevity and sustainability surrounding player compensation. Maintaining a healthy tension should be the league's goal and will be the league's challenge.

Read the full article at the Houston Chronicle.

Three Footballers Make the List of Highest Paid Athletes

If you're like me, then you not only love sports, but the business of sports. As we head toward the Beijing Olympics, this weeks' Economist has a fascinating section on sports business.

I'll be plucking bits and pieces from this section over the next week or so but to start, I'll share the latest chart to make you all wish you'd taken up golf as a kid - but aside from that, it also lists the other 10 highest earners in sport.

The list includes salary, bonus and endorsement estimates for last season only! For all those youngsters trying to determine which sport to take up (again, besides golf), I'm happy to report that Football is well represented (revenue in US dollars):

1. Tiger Woods | Golf | $127,000,000
2. Phil Mickelson | Golf | $62,400,000
3. David Beckham | Football | $48,200,000
4. Kimi Raikkonen | Motor Sports | $46,000,000
5. LeBron James | Basketball | $40,500,000
6. Floyd Mayweather Jr. | Boxing | $40,300,000
7. Ronaldinho | Football | $37,500,000
8. Lionel Messi | Football | $35,800,000
9. Kobe Bryant | Basketball | $35,500,000
10. Roger Federer | Tennis | $35,100,000
11. Fernando Alonso | Motor Sports | $35,000,000
12. Shaquille O'Neal | Basketball | $35,000,000

Picture: David Beckham in his customized Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe - est. price $602,500.