Both the UFC and their athlete outfit sponsor Reebok have been included in the top 10 of the Forbes magazine’s annual list of most valuable sports brands in the world.
Every year the financial title measures the value of the planet’s leading sports brands. This doesn’t include you how much the businesses, athletes or events earn however, the focus is to measures how much the name of each brand – all by itself – contributes to their value or earnings.
It’s no surprise that after being sold for over $4 billion dollars this past summer to WME-IMG the Ultimate Fighting Championship broke into the top 10, hitting the number 7 spot. Forbes reporter Mike Ozanian made special mention of the deal in his report.
“The purchase of a brand can have a big impact on its value,” writes Ozanian. “The UFC was acquired by WME/IMG this summer for $4 billion. By my count the price allocation of the deal valued the UFC’s brand at $2 billion – more than three times its value a year ago – based on the enterprise value premium paid for the mixed martial arts promotion.
“The UFC posted the biggest year–over-year increase among business brands. But if the UFC does not become bigger and more profitable – thereby justifying its $4 billion price tag – its brand could fall sharply in value.”
The UFC’s $2 billion brand value indicated an upswing of 335%. The only brands ahead of the UFC included Nike, ESPN, adidas, Under Armour and Sky Sports, which are all globally well known and the majority have been around for far more years than the mixed martial arts promotion.
Joining the UFC in the top 10 was their athlete outfight sponsor, Reebok, listed at number 9 and with a brand value of $800 million, down by 3.6% when compared to 2015.
