And the Most Valuable Sport Is...

Fans can argue endlessly over which sport is best, which requires the most skill, which the most athleticism -- even which is the most popular, depending on whether you measure watching or playing.

Let their be no argument, however, about which sport is the most valuable, at least in terms of how much people around the world are willing to shell out for officially licensed jerseys, pennants, bobble head dolls, foam fingers, and other souvenirs.

The winner, hands down, is Major League Baseball, again. MLB ranked sixth among all licensors in the latest global rankings from License Global magazine, pulling in an estimated $5.1 billion.

The National Football League came in 12th -- down two positions from last year -- with $3.4 billion. The National Basketball Association also slipped two notches, to 14th position, with $3 billion in licensing revenue.

Sorry, hockey fans, but the National Hockey League didn't make the Top 50, although World Wrestling Entertainment tied for 36th place (matching Cookie Jar Consumer Products, which is behind such children's fare as Strawberry Short Cake and Caillou).

The growing popularity of college sports is reflected in the addition to the list of previously unranked Collegiate Licensing Company, the IMG unit that wraps up sales of goods bearing the names and logos of most major universities. It posted $4.28 billion in revenue last year, good for ninth place overall.

Perennial champion The Walt Disney Co. finished first, racking up an estimated $30 billion in licensing revenue. That is more that four times as much as second-place Iconix Brand Group, the New York company that buys and revives once-forlorn brands including London Fog, Danskin, Ocean Pacific, and more recently Sharper Image and Linens 'n' Things.

License Global Magazine's Top 50
(2008 rank in parenthesis)

1. Disney Consumer Products $30 billion (1)
2. Iconix $6.5 billion (4)
3. Warner Brothers Consumer Products $6 billion (3)
4. Marvel Entertainment $5.7 billion (5)
5. Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products $5.5 billion (6)
6. Major League Baseball $5.1 billion (7)
7. Phillips-Van Heusen $5 billion (2)
8. Sanrio $5 billion (8)
9. The Collegiate Licensing Company $4.28 billion (--)
10. Cherokee Group $4 billion (9)
11. General Motors $3.4 billion (11)
12. National Football League $3.4 billion (10)
13. Mattel Brands Consumer Products $3+ billion (16)
14. National Basketball Association $3 billion (12)
15. Pentland Brands $3 billion (--)
16. Westinghouse $2.8 billion (13)
17. Hit Entertainment $2.5 billion (15)
18. International Brand Management $2+ billion (--)
19. MGA Entertainment $2 billion (14)
20. Rainbow $2 billion (--)
21. BBC Worldwide $1.9 billion (27)
22. Twentieth Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising $1.75 billion (19)
23. Cartoon Network Enterprises $1.7 billion (33)
24. Ferrari $1.5 billion (22)
25. Ford Motor Company $1.5 billion (24)
26. Giochi Preziosi Group $1.5 billion (--)
27. Sesame Workshop $1.5 billion (21)
28. Kathy Ireland Worldwide $1.4 billion (23)
29. Perry Ellis International $1.4 billion (29)
30. Pokemon USA $1.4 billion (26)
31. Sunkist Growers $1.4 billion (25)
32. Chorion $1.3 billion (38)
33. MGM Consumer Products and Location Based Entertainment $1.2 billion (--)
34. Peanuts $1.2 billion (30)
35. Fremantle Media Enterprises $1.1 billion (34)
36. Cookie Jar Consumer Products $1+ billion (82)
37. World Wrestling Entertainment $1+ billion (37)
38. Caterpillar $1 billion (44)
39. Harley-Davidson $1 billion (41)
40. Jarden Corp. $1 billion (35)
41. Sony Pictures Consumer Products $ 1 billion (18)
42. Universal Studios Consumer Products Group $1 billion (36)
43. The Coca-Cola Co. $850 million (39)
44. Frigidaire $850 million (43)
45. Playboy Enterprises International $800+ million (46)
46. Carte Blanche Greetings $800 million (45)
47. Kellwood $800 million (42)
48. American Greetings Properties $750 million (40)
49. Whirlpool $656 million (47)
50. Chrysler LLC $625 million (32)

The full 2008 list can be found here.

by Mark Stein