Top 10 most valuable players

Recently, the renowned magazine Forbes released a list of the most valuable sports brands in the world for 2013. Here, we take a look at the 10 of the most valuable players in the world for the year 2013.

This is not a list that has been prepared after conducting a poll. Rather, this list has been compiled using hard financial data. To compile this list of the most valuable sports teams in terms of brand value, Forbes took the endorsement value of the player and subtracted the average endorsement value of the top 10 players in the same sport.

10. Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar

Brand Value 2013: $11 millionBrand Value 2012: $10 million

Sachin Tendulkar is widely recognised as the greatest batsman not only in India, but in the world as well. He’s perhaps second only to the great Don Bradman in terms of performances and records. He has carried the burden of an entire nation on his shoulders throughout his long career of 24 years.

Such is the value of the brand Sachin Tendulkar that his sponsors like Adidas, Coca-Cola, Toshiba, etc will continue their association with the Little Master.

Tied for 8th. Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi

Brand Value 2013: $13 millionBrand Value 2012: $8 million

There are 2 players at 8th place, with one of them being Barcelona and Argentina’s Lionel Messi. Messi has been lighting up football grounds wherever he has played, and fans have enjoyed all the skills and goals that Messi has displayed over the years.

Lionel Messi is associated with a lot of brands, with Head and Shoulders being one of the major sponsors of the star striker.

Tied for 8th. Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo

Brand Value 2013: $13 millionBrand Value 2012: $11 million

Tied with Lionel Messi for 8th place is his nemesis and rival, Real Madrid and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo. If there is any player that has been able to go toe to toe with Barcelona’s dynamite, it is Ronaldo. He has scored a lot of goals, as many as Messi has, and fans are in constant debate about who the best of the two is.

Just like Messi, Ronaldo has numerous brands sponsoring him as well, and recently Herbalife announced that they have entered into a multimillion dollar deal with Ronaldo, and will be his nutrition partner.

7. Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant

Brand Value 2013: $19 million

Brand Value 2012: $18 million

Kobe Bryant is one of the most popular and successful NBA stars today. Nicknamed the “Black Mamba”, Kobe Bryant has won 5 NBA Championships in his career and has been a 15 time All Star. He is the 3rd highest in post season scoring as well as 4th highest in the regular season scoring lists.

Kobe Bryant endorses multiple brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola, Lenovo, etc and recently added Hublot to the list as well.

6. Usain Bolt

Usain Bolt

Brand Value 2013: $20 million

Brand Value 2012: $17 million

Usain Bolt is widely regarded as the fastest man on earth. Bolt holds the record for the fastest time in the 100 m sprint, at a lowly 9.58 seconds, beating his own previous record of 9.69 seconds. He is one of the most successful athletes in the history of athletics, for the number of medals that he has won so far in his career.

Bolt signed a deal with Puma that would pay him $10 million every year and which will continue to pay him $4 million even after his retirement.

5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni

MS Dhoni

Brand Value 2013: $21 millionBrand Value 2012: $17 million

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, popularly known as MS Dhoni, is India’s most successful captain and is a very popular cricketer among Indian fans. He guided the team towards a T20 World Cup win as well as the ODI World Cup as well, sending the fans into a frenzy, and consequently making him a hero.

MS Dhoni has more than 20 sponsors, which include such big companies as Lays, Reebok, Gulf Oil, etc.

4. Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson

Brand Value 2013: $25 million

Brand Value 2012: $26 million

Phil Mickelson is only one of 15 golfers in the history of the sport to win at least 3 of the 4 majors that are on offer. He has won 5 majors in total, of which there are 3 Masters titles, one PGA Championship and one Open Championship. The only other Major that he has not won is the US Open, in which he has finished runners up for a record 6 times.

Phil Mickelson is part of an investor group that hold the rights for franchises of Five Guys Burger.

3. LeBron James

Lebron James

Brand Value 2013: $27 millionBrand Value 2012: $26 million

LeBron James is a very popular NBA star who has won 2 NBA Championships and 4 NBA Most Valuable Player awards. Nicknamed “King James”, he has been selected to 9 All-Star NBA teams and he is Cleveland’s all time leading scorer.

The popularity of LeBron James is such that his number 6 Jersey for Miami Heat is the highest selling Jersey in the NBA, both in the United States as well as all over the world.

Tied for 1st. Roger Federer

Roger Federer

Brand Value 2013: $46 millionBrand Value 2012: $29 million

Roger Federer is one of the greatest tennis players of his generation, if not in the history of the game. Federer combines class and finesse to bamboozle the opponents with his shots. He has won 17 Grand Slam titles and a total of 77 career titles.

Roger Federer has a number of endorsements and the income that he earns from these endorsements is more than twice the average income the top tennis players earn through their own endorsements.

Tied for 1st. Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods

Brand Value 2013: $46 million

Brand Value 2012: $38 million

Tiger Woods is one of the most successful golfers in the history of the game. He has won a total of 14 Majors and is second on the list of the most number of Majors won by a golfer. He has numerous records under his name, and after a dry spell for quite some time, he has once again returned to the top rank, as of March 2013.

One of the main reasons that sponsors like Tiger Woods is because of the fact that the TV ratings more than double whenever he is playing on the last day of any competition, which would in turn give a lot of exposure to his sponsors.