Sports psychology special for JohnFMurray.com – SportsPro Magazine ranked the world’s 200 most valuable sports properties in their July issue. This a fun and fascinating list and all people interested in sports should consider a subscription to this London based magazine (editors Adam Nethersole and David Cushnan) read by the top executives in many sports worldwide. Enjoy the story below.

SportsPro magazine has published the world’s first ranking of sports properties in its July issue. Unsurprisingly, the National Football League (NFL) is ranked as the world’s most valuable sports property, with a value of US$4.5 billion. It is followed at the top of the table by three other American properties – Major League Baseball (MLB) (US$3.9 billion), the NBA (US$3.35 billion) and Nascar (US$1.9 billion).

The newest property in the list is the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is valued at US$1.6 billion – a staggering achievement for a two-year-old property.

The highest ranked European team property is the Ferrari Formula One team (7th) at a value of US$1.55 billion, followed by Manchester United Football Club (8th) at US$1.495 billion. The most valuable American sports club is the Dallas Cowboys (10th), the NFL team, valued at US$1.278 billion.

Tiger Woods (11th) is the highest rated athlete property with a value of US$1.25 billion, followed by Jack Nicklaus (16th) at US$1 billion. Golfers dominate the athletes’ table because of the high earnings from designing golf courses; Tiger Woods is expected to earn over a billion dollars from designing courses in the next decade and will almost certainly eclipse his on-course earnings. David and Victoria’s Beckham Brand Ltd property (88th) is valued at US$375 million.

Many single annual events appear, led by the Wimbledon tennis championships (22nd) valued at US$900 million.

Unsurprisingly, the most valuable competition is the Fifa World Cup (5th) valued at US$1.7 billion, ahead of the Summer Olympic Games (15th) at US$1.04 billion. The Uefa Champions League (13th) is valued at US$1.1 billion, eclipsing the Summer Olympics due to its annual status.

OVERALL TABLE (200) (Top Ten tables below)

1 National Football League; 32 NFL franchises Football – US$4.5 billion
2 Major League Baseball; 32 MLB franchises Baseball – US$3.936 billion
3 National Basketball Association; 30 NBA franchises Basketball – US$2.344 billion 4 Nascar France family; Motorsport – US$1.9 billion 5 Fifa World Cup; Fifa Soccer – US$1.7 billion 6 Indian Premier League BCCI (India) Cricket US$1.6 billion 7 Scuderia Ferrari; Fiat Motorsport – US$1.55 billion 8 Manchester United FC; Malcolm Glazer Soccer – US$1.495 billion 9 Formula One; CVC/Royal Bank of Scotland Motorsport – US$1.45 billion 10 Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones Football US$1.278 billion 11 ETW Corp/Tiger Woods Design Tiger Woods Golf US$1.25 billion

12 New York Yankees George Steinbrenner Baseball US$1.19 billion

13 Uefa Champions League Uefa Soccer US$1.1 billion 14 Real Madrid Club Members Soccer US$1.073 billion 15 Olympic Games (Summer) International Olympic Committee Multi-Sports US$1.024 billion 16 Nicklaus Design and Golf Equipmt Jack Nicklaus Golf US$1 billion 17 Washington Redskins Daniel Snyder Football US$999 million 18 PGA Tour PGA of America Golf US$970 million 19 New York Giants John Mara/Steven Tisch Football US$932 million 20 New York Jets Robert Wood Johnson IV Football US$927 million 21 Arsenal FC Stan Kroenke Soccer US$910 million 22 The Wimbledon Championships All England Lawn Tennis Club Tennis US$900 million 23 US Tennis Open United States Tennis Association Tennis US$880 million 24 New England Patriots Robert Kraft Football US$861 million 25 World Wrestling Entertainment McMahon Family Wrestling US$837 million

26 Miami Dolphins Wayne Huizenga/Stephen Ross Football US$828 million

27 Liverpool FC George Gillett/Tom Hicks Soccer US$801 million 28 Arnold Palmer Design Arnold Palmer Enterprises Golf US$800 million 29 Great White Shark Enterprises Greg Norman Golf US$800 million 30 Uefa European Championship Uefa Soccer US$800 million 31 FC Barcelona Club Members Soccer US$793 million 32 AC Milan Silvio Berlusconi Soccer US$774 million 33 National Hockey League 30 NHL franchises Ice Hockey US$760 million 34 Rugby World Cup Rugby World Cup Ltd/IRB Rugby Union US$750 million 35 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club Golf US$750 million 36 Michael Jordan Michael Jordan/Nike Basketball US$725 million 37 Houston Texans Robert McNair Football US$725 million 38 Philadelphia Eagles Jeffrey Lurie Football US$723 million 39 FC Bayern Munich Club members Soccer US$721 million 40 ICC World Cup International Cricket Council Cricket US$700 million 41 ATP World Tour Assoc. of Tennis Professionals Tennis US$700 million 42 Indianapolis Colts James Irsay Football US$699 million 43 Chicago Bears McCaskey Family Football US$692 million 44 Baltimore Ravens Stephen Bisciotti Football US$690 million 45 Denver Broncos Patrick Bowlen Football US$689 million 46 Tampa Bay Buccanneers Malcolm Glazer Football US$685 million 47 Carolina Panthers Jerry Richardson Football US$676 million 48 Cleveland Browns Randy Lerner Football US$673 million 49 New York Mets Fred Wilpon Baseball US$665 million 50 Green Bay Packers Shareholders Football US$664 million 51 Kansas City Chiefs Hunt Family Football US$660 million 52 Pittsburgh Steelers Rooney Family Football US$659 million 53 Seattle Seahawks Paul Allen Football US$657 million 54 Boston Red Sox John Henry/Thomas Werner Baseball US$651 million 55 Chelsea FC Roman Abramovich Soccer US$634 million 56 Cincinnati Bengals Michael Brown Football US$612 million 57 New Orleans Saints Thomas Benson Football US$608 million 58 St Louis Rams Chip Rosenbloom/Stan Kroenke Football US$603 million 59 Detroit Lions William Clay Ford Football US$597 million 60 Arizona Cardinals William Bidwell Football US$594 million 61 Team McLaren-Mercedes; Mercedes/Mumtalakat/Ron Dennis/Mansour Ojjeh Motorsport – US$580 million 62 San Diego Chargers Alexander Spanos Football US$577 million 63 Buffalo Bills Ralph Wilson Jr. Football US$574 million 64 Tennessee Titans Kenneth Adams Jr. Football US$569 million 65 Atlanta Falcons Arthur Blank Football US$567 million 66 San Francisco 49ers Denise DeBartolo York Football US$561 million 67 Oakland Raiders Allen Davis Football US$559 million 68 Minnesota Vikings Wilf Family Football US$545 million 69 Monaco Grand Prix; Automobile Club de Monaco Motorsport – US$520 million 70 Olympic Games (Winter) International Olympic Committee Multi-Sports US$504 million 71 America’s Cup Société Nautique de Genève Sailing US$500 million 72 Golden Boy Promotions Oscar de la Hoya Boxing US$500 million 73 Ryder Cup PGA of America/PGA European Tour Golf US$500 million 74 Jacksonville Jaguars Wayne Weaver Football US$497 million 75 Internazionale Massimo Moratti Soccer US$481 million 76 Juventus Agnelli Family Soccer US$476 million 77 Los Angeles Dodgers Frank McCourt Baseball US$469 million 78 Chicago Cubs Tom Ricketts Baseball US$455 million 79 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games Federation Multi-Sports US$450 million 80 New York Knicks Cablevision Systems Basketball US$405 million 81 Australian Open Tennis Australia Tennis US$400 million 82 LeBron James LeBron James Basketball US$400 million 83 Six Nations Six Nations Rugby Ltd. Rugby Union US$400 million 84 Chicago Bulls Jerry Reinsdorf Basketball US$399 million 85 Phoenix Suns Robert Sarver Basketball US$381 million 86 WTA Tour Women’s Tennis Association Tennis US$380 million 87 Los Angeles Lakers Jerry Buss/Philip Anschutz Basketball US$379 million 88 Beckham Brand Ltd. David Beckham/Victoria Beckham Soccer US$375 million 89 Detroit Pistons Karen Davidson Basketball US$374 million 90 Boston Celtics Wycliffe Grousbeck Basketball US$353 million 91 Major League Soccer MLS Soccer US$350 million 92 Tour de France Amaury Sport Organisation Cycling US$350 million 93 Hendrick Motorsports; Rick Hendrick Motorsport – US$335 million 94 AS Roma Sensi Family Soccer US$331 million 95 FC Schalke 04 Club members Soccer US$331 million 96 MotoGP; Dorna Sports Motorsport – US$330 million 97 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Arturo Moreno Baseball US$330 million 98 Toronto Maple Leafs Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Ice Hockey US$325 million 99 Philadelphia Phillies William Giles Baseball US$322 million 100 St Louis Cardinals William DeWitt Jr. Baseball US$315 million 101 Roush Fenway Racing; Jack Roush/John Henry Motorsport – US$313 million 102 Asian Games Olympic Council of Asia Multi-Sports US$310 million 103 Indianapolis 500; Tony George Motorsport – US$310 million 104 Cleveland Cavaliers Daniel Gilbert Basketball US$310 million 105 San Francisco Giants William Neukom/Susan Burns Baseball US$305 million 106 Houston Rockets Leslie Alexander Basketball US$304 million 107 Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban Basketball US$304 million 108 Copa America Conmebol Soccer US$300 million 109 French Open French Tennis Federation Tennis US$300 million 110 PGA European Tour PGA European Tour Golf US$300 million 111 Ultimate Fighting Championship Zuffa LLC Martial Arts US$300 million 112 Chicago White Sox Jerry Reinsdorf Baseball US$292 million 113 New York Rangers Cablevision Systems Ice Hockey US$291 million 114 Atlanta Braves Liberty Media Baseball US$289 million 115 Houston Astros Robert Drayton McLane Jr. Baseball US$288 million 116 Seattle Mariners Nintendo Baseball US$277 million 117 San Antonio Spurs Peter Holt Basketball US$269 million 118 Washington Nationals Theodore Lerner Baseball US$264 million 119 Texas Rangers Tom Hicks Baseball US$262 million 120 Singapore Grand Prix; Ong Beng Seng/Singapore Government Motorsport – US$261 million 121 Baltimore Orioles Peter Angelos Baseball US$260 million 122 Cleveland Indians Lawrence Dolan Baseball US$260 million 123 San Diego Padres John Moores Baseball US$260 million 124 Toronto Raptors Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Basketball US$260 million 125 Panathinaikos Giannis Vardinagiannis Soccer US$254 million 126 Arizona Diamondbacks Ken Kendrick Baseball US$253 million 127 The Open Championship Royal & Ancient Golf US$252 million 128 Tottenham Hotspur FC Daniel Levy Soccer US$250 million 129 Colorado Rockies Charles Monfort/Richard Monfort Baseball US$241 million 130 BMW-Sauber F1 Team; BMW Group Motorsport – US$240 million 131 Detroit Tigers Michael Illitch Baseball US$240 million 132 Philadelphia 76ers Comcast Spectacor Basketball US$234 million 133 Utah Jazz Miller Family Basketball US$233 million 134 Minnesota Twins James Pohland Baseball US$232 million 135 Toronto Blue Jays Rogers Communications Baseball US$229 million 136 Washington Wizards Abe Pollin Basketball US$229 million 137 Sacramento Kings Maloof Family Basketball US$227 million 138 Orlando Magic Richard DeVos Basketball US$226 million 139 Milwaukee Brewers Mark Attanasio Baseball US$225 million 140 Cincinnati Reds Robert Castellini Baseball US$222 million 141 Renault F1 Team; Renault Motorsport – US$220 million 142 Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Tendulkar Cricket US$220 million 143 Golden State Warriors Christopher Cohan Basketball US$217 million 144 Montreal Canadiens George Gillett Ice Hockey US$217 million 145 Denver Nuggets Stan Kroenke Basketball US$213 million 146 Tampa Bay Rays Stuart Sternberg Baseball US$208 million 147 Oakland Athletics Lewis Wolff/John Fisher Baseball US$207 million 148 Kansas City Royals David Glass Baseball US$204 million 149 Manchester City FC Abu Dhabi United Investment Group Soccer US$202 million 150 Australian Football League AFL AFL US$200 million 151 English FA Cup English Football Association Soccer US$200 million 152 FC Porto FCPorto SAD Soccer US$200 million 153 Atlanta Hawks Atlanta Spirit Basketball US$199 million 154 Portland Trail Blazers Paul Allen Basketball US$199 million 155 Miami Heat Micky Arison Basketball US$196 million 156 Detroit Red Wings Michael Illitch Ice Hockey US$196 million 157 Indiana Pacers Herbert Simon/Melvin Simon Basketball US$196 million 158 Los Angeles Clippers Donald Sterling Basketball US$195 million 159 Aston Villa FC Randy Lerner Soccer US$195 million 160 Minnesota Timberwolves Glen Taylor Basketball US$195 million 161 Oklahoma City Thunder Clay Bennett Basketball US$195 million 162 Memphis Grizzlies Michael Heisley Basketball US$191 million 163 New Jersey Nets Bruce Ratner Basketball US$191 million 164 Werder Bremen Werder Bremen and Co. Ltd. Soccer US$190 million 165 Fenerbahce Fenerbahce S.K. Soccer US$190 million 166 Toyota Racing; Toyota Motor Corp. Motorsport – US$190 million 167 Volvo Ocean Race; Volvo Event Management UK Sailing – US$190 million 168 Pittsburgh Pirates Robert Nutting Baseball US$188 million 169 Charlotte Bobcats Robert Johnson Basketball US$184 million 170 New Orleans Hornets George Shinn/Gary Chouest Basketball US$184 million 171 Milwaukee Bucks Herbert Kohl Basketball US$180 million 172 Florida Marlins Jeffrey Loria Baseball US$179 million 173 Philadelphia Flyers Comcast Spectacor Ice Hockey US$178 million 174 Dallas Stars Tom Hicks Ice Hockey US$177 million 175 Celtic FC Dermot Desmond Soccer US$172 million 176 VfB Stuttgart Club members Soccer US$171 million 177 Boston Bruins Jeremy Jacobs Ice Hockey US$170 million 178 Hamburger FC Club members Soccer US$165 million 179 Galatasaray Galatasaray SK Soccer US$160 million 180 Vancouver Canucks Francesco Aquilini Ice Hockey US$153 million 181 Borussia Dortmund Borussia Dortmund GmbH Motorsport US$150 million 182 Colorado Avalanche Stan Kroenke Ice Hockey US$150 million 183 Olympique Lyonnais Jean-Michel Aulas Soccer US$150 million 184 New Jersey Devils Jeffrey Vanderbeek Ice Hockey US$144 million 185 Olympique de Marseille Robert Louis-Dreyfus Soccer US$141 million 186 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing; Teresa Earnhardt Motorsport – US$140 million 187 Minnesota Wild Craig Leipold/Philip Falcone Ice Hockey US$140 million 188 Los Angeles Kings Philip Anschutz Ice Hockey US$136 million 189 Everton FC Bill Kenwright Soccer US$133 million 190 Ottawa Senators Eugene Melnyk Ice Hockey US$133 million 191 Chicago Blackhawks Wirtz Family Ice Hockey US$132 million 192 Anaheim Ducks Henry Samueli/Susan Samueli Ice Hockey US$131 million 193 Calgary Flames Calgary Flames LP Ice Hockey US$131 million 194 Tampa Bay Lightning Oren Koules/Len Barrie Ice Hockey US$130 million 195 Glasgow Rangers FC Sir David Murray Soccer US$126million 196 Pittsburgh Penguins Mario Lemieux/Ronald Burkle Ice Hockey US$126 million 197 Newcastle United FC Mike Ashley Soccer US$120 million 198 Kobe Bryant Kobe Bryant Basketball US$120 million 199 San Jose Sharks Kevin Compton/Greg Jamison Ice Hockey US$116 million

200 Penske Racing; Roger Penske Motorsport – US$115 million