Manchester United is the most valuable property in sports and Tiger Woods is the highest-earning athlete globally, a report by Forbes magazine found.
English Premier League soccer team United is worth US$1.84 billion, according to Forbes, while Woods, the top-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking, earned US$105 million in the year through June.
Four US teams line up behind United. The five-time Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys are ranked No. 2 with a value of US$1.65 billion, US$50 million more than the New York Yankees, who last year won a record-extending 27th World Series title.
The National Football League’s Washington Redskins (US$1.55 billion) and New England Patriots (US$1.36 billion) round out the top five.
Woods is the only athlete to have surpassed US$1 billion in career earnings, Forbes said in October. The 14-time winner at golf’s four major championships has seen his endorsement income slump by US$22 million to US$70 million since he admitted in December to marital infidelity, Sports Illustrated said today. Woods earned US$90.5 million in 2009, SI.com said.
Woods was ditched as a pitchman by companies including Accenture Plc, AT&T Inc, Procter & Gamble Co’s Gillette razors and PepsiCo Inc’s Gatorade after details about his private life emerged following a November car crash outside his Florida home. He hasn’t won a tournament since.
Mayweather and Pacquiao
Boxer Floyd Mayweather ranks second on the Forbes list behind Woods, with US$65 million in annual earnings. Mayweather, who aptly uses the nickname “Money,” has held six world titles in five weights, according to a biography on HBO.com, and is undefeated in 41 fights.
Mayweather is the World Boxing Council welterweight champion. A deadline for the 33-year-old American to agree to fight World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines in November expired July 17 without Mayweather accepting the terms, ESPN reported two days ago.
Ring magazine ranks Mayweather and Pacquiao, who is eighth on the Forbes list with annual income of US$42 million, as the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers is the third- highest paid athlete, according to Forbes, with an income of US$48 million.
Bryant was last month voted the Most Valuable Player of the National Basketball Association Finals for the second straight year as he helped the Lakers to win a 16th title.
In this year’s playoffs, the 31-year-old Bryant averaged 29.2 points and six rebounds, compared with career averages of 25.3 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Mickelson, Beckham
Masters Tournament champion Phil Mickelson, the world’s No. 2-ranked golfer, is next on the list with US$46 million in annual income and the top five is completed by Los Angeles Galaxy soccer player David Beckham, who made US$43.7 million in the year through June.
United is one of nine soccer teams included among the top 50 sports properties by value, which is defined by Forbes as a team’s equity plus its net debt.
Record nine-time European champion Real Madrid is the second-most valuable team in the sport at US$1.32 billion, followed by United’s rival Arsenal, which Forbes said is worth US$1.18 billion. The soccer teams’ values are the same as those attributed to them by Forbes in a survey released April 21.
NFL Sweep
All 32 NFL teams are included. While their order remains as it did in a Forbes study released September 2, some team values have changed, with the Cowboys dropping US$50 million in value from US$1.7 billion and the Redskins increasing in value by the same amount, for example.
Four Major League Baseball clubs other than the Yankees make the grade. Those are the Boston Red Sox (35th, US$870 million), the New York Mets (38th, US$858 million), the Los Angeles Dodgers (45th, US$727 million) and the Chicago Cubs (46th, US$726 million). The MLB teams’ values are the same as they were in a Forbes report released April 7.
The only two NBA teams on the 50-team ranking occupy the last two spots, with the Lakers valued at US$607 million and the New York Knicks worth US$586 million. No National Hockey League teams appear in the top 50.
The only other sport represented is Formula One motor racing, with Ferrari, the oldest team, ranked 16th at US$1.05 billion and McLaren Mercedes in the 42nd spot with a value of US$805 million. -- Bloomberg
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