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Wednesday, July 10 What's in a name? For Yankees, about $334 million By Darren Rovell ESPN.com |
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The New York Yankees have the most powerful brand name in all of American sports, according to a recent study released by FutureBrand, a brand consulting company. The team's nickname and interlocking "NY" logo is worth $334 million, according to the firm.
Forbes magazine valued the entire Yankees club at $730 million. The FutureBrand study is meant to determine how much the Yankees logo and name would be worth for a person wishing to buy the team. "When teams are selling these days, the potential new owner has to calculate what all the assets are worth," said Sebastian Shapiro, director of brand evaluation for the company. "Along with the costs associated with personnel such as the players and the management, there are the costs of the rights to take over the brand." At $334 million, Shapiro said the Yankees brand is worth about the same as the value of the Four Seasons Hotel chain brand. Although the Dallas Cowboys, which Forbes values at $743 million, have fallen on hard times in recent years, the team's brand value was the second highest at $300 million. Ownership also can significantly affect a brand's value. "Top owners are always thinking about how to sell more merchandise and to make their appeal more diversified," Shapiro said. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will help the Dallas Mavericks brand gain value in future years, Shapiro said. FutureBrand valued the Mavericks brand at $29 million, which puts it at 68th among the 80 teams evaluated. Darren Rovell covers sports business for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Darren.Rovell@ESPN.com. |
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