LEBRON IS A BRAND LIKE NO OTHER ATHLETE
Only Nike, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Pepsi surpass Cavaliers star in power
BULLS OF THE WEEK
It was a good week for Real Madrid, the third-richest sport franchise in the world.
First, Cristiano Ronaldo and Company defeated Spanish archrival FC Barcelona in another Clasico last Sunday, putting a stranglehold on the La Liga title with five matches left in the season. Real Madrid then took the opening leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal, whipping their cross-town rivals at Atletico Madrid 3-0 on the strength of a Ronaldo hat-trick Tuesday.
Real Madrid is valued at $3.65 billion, which, according, to the most recent Forbes Magazine estimates, lags behind only the $4 billion Dallas Cowboys of the NFL and $3.7 billion New York Yankees of Major League Baseball.
At $697 million, Real Madrid is also tied for third with Barca in terms of annual global revenues, behind only Manchester United ($774 million) and the Cowboys ($700 million).
It’s also been another good week for Aaron Judge and the surprising young Yankees, who went into a juicy heritage brand interleague series this weekend against the Chicago Cubs with baseball’s third-best record.
Yet no one had a more bullish week on the stock market of sport than LeBron James of the reigning NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers, dominant in their series against the Toronto Raptors. King James is now second only to Michael Jordan in all-time NBA playoffs scoring and could surpass the Bulls legend by the end of this year’s post-season.
Building on a personal net worth of north of $275 million, he is clearly in the conversation for greatest of all-time and has come such a long way on the PR front since The Decision in 2010.
Gunning for his seventh NBA Finals and fourth championship, James is — according to the Forbes SportsMoney Index — the fifth-most powerful brand in sport; behind Nike, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Pepsi.
BEARS OF THE WEEK
While the NBA rises on the strength of the undisputed excellence of James in a postseason full of marquee superstars (including teammate Kyrie Irving, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors, Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics, James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs), the NHL is anxiously awaiting a playoffs prognosis for its biggest star, Sidney Crosby of the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
Crosby suffered a fourth career concussion in a controversial goalmouth pile up with Alex Ovechkin and Matt Niskanen of the Washington Capitals in Game 3 of their playoff series. Fortunately, it looks like Crosby will not be out for a protracted period of time — he practised with the team Friday — as his absence would have been a huge setback for the Penguins in particular and the NHL and in general.
With respect due to Edmonton Oilers superstar sophomore Connor McDavid, no one moves the needle in terms of hockey endorsements, licensing and sponsorships, television ratings, media coverage and social like No. 87.
Playing in the 23rd-largest media market in the United States, Crosby has given the Penguins the hottest regional television numbers in the league.
That’s one of the many reasons the NHL needs a zero-tolerance policy on head shots of any kind, to Crosby, any star or any player in the game.
The Sport Market on TSN 1040 rates and debates the bulls and bears of sport business. Join Tom Mayenknecht Saturday from 7 to 11 a.m. for a behind-the-scenes look at the sport business stories that matter most to fans. Follow him on social media at: twitter.com/TheSportMarket