The NRL’s Penrith Panthers have taken over as the most valuable sports club in the country despite missing the grand final this season, outranking the premiership-winning Brisbane Broncos in a list of football teams by the worth of their brand.
Collingwood was once again the most valuable club in the AFL, worth $127 million, but suffered an 18 per cent drop in value last year, the latest rankings by consultancy Brand Finance Australia show. The ability of NRL and AFL clubs to leverage on-field performance has brought the total value of the two football codes to $2.6 billion, up from $2.3 billion in 2024.
The Panthers topped the list of most valuable NRL and AFL brands in 2025. Getty
The Panthers and the Broncos were the only rugby league teams with a brand value exceeding $100 million. The Panthers are worth $129.2 million, ahead of 2025 premiers the Broncos, which placed second among NRL clubs at $119.7 million.
Brand Finance Australia chief executive Mark Crowe said the changes to this year’s list showed the value of on-field wins to sponsorship and other revenue opportunities.
“Improved perceptions for a particular brand are not something that converts into value overnight,” he said. “It’s the ability for a club that has improved its position on the ladder, or indeed has won the competition, to then leverage that over the next 12 months and convert that into higher value through…sponsorship, match day attendance and corporate dollars.
Advertisement “What’s really fuelled Penrith’s performance and rise to the top is that ability to convert what has been a phenomenal on-field performance…into off-field commercial performance.”
The Canberra Raiders, the 2025 minor premiers, climbed 91 per cent to a brand value of $76.8 million. It was the largest jump for an NRL team in 2025. Other teams to report major increases in brand value were the Melbourne Storm and the Bulldogs (more than 70 per cent increases to $96 million and $91.6 million, respectively).
The 2025 list of the most valuable AFL and NRL club brands. Brand Finance Australia
The AFL has four teams with brands worth more than $100 million: Collingwood, Brisbane, Sydney Swans and Richmond. But the clubs that increased their brand value more substantially were outside Victoria.
Back-to-back premiers Brisbane shot to second place from ninth in 2024, with a value of $116 million, up 82 per cent.
The Gold Coast Suns, the Swans, Greater Western Sydney Giants and Adelaide Crows all increased brand value by at least 40 per cent. The value of Victorian brands, including Collingwood, Melbourne, St Kilda and Essendon, all dipped in 2025.
“The northern markets for the AFL have improved very much on the back of the performance of the Brisbane Lions in Queensland and the Sydney Swans in NSW,” Crowe said. “The performance of the Gold Coast Suns and GWS Giants has also improved. The interesting thing is that the gains of one code … we don’t observe come at the expense of the other.”
How to measure a team’s brand value Brand Finance has valued international sports brands for more than a decade. The current report marks the second time it has focused on Australian NRL and AFL clubs. It ranked them based on two factors – brand value and brand strength.
Value looks at how much of a company’s profits are attributable to its “brand”. It is a combination of the strength score, how much it would cost to license the brand’s assets and the company’s forecast revenue. It includes a valuation of the trade name, trademarks and logo.
A brand’s strength is scored out of 100, measuring attributes such as marketing investment, financial performance and sustainability.
Collingwood, which had more members than any AFL club in 2025, topped the brand strength list with 90.9 points, up 11 per cent year-on-year. The Broncos were top of the NRL’s list with 92.8 points.
The total brand value of the 35 clubs in the two codes combined was $2.6 billion – about $1.4 billion represented by the 18 AFL clubs and $1.2 billion from the 17 NRL teams.
Crowe said the NRL was rapidly building momentum – brand value increased by 27 per cent year-on-year.
“The big watch for the NRL is...the ability to convert that [club brand strength] into delivering an improved media rights deal for the next cycle,” he said. “They’re certainly well positioned to extract an improved return.”
https://www.facebook.com/e8304f89-b0e9-4aea-9014-85a44bc2b9e6" alt="" width="100%" height="100%" />
Replies
I have no idea what metrics are used for these rankings and figures. Some rankings and figures are very questionable taking common sence into account. i.e Bunnies so far behind although they have a fan base and memberships as big as ours.
The Canberra Raiders, the 2025 minor premiers, climbed 91 per cent to a brand value of $76.8 million. It was the largest jump for an NRL team in 2025. Other teams to report major increases in brand value were the Melbourne Storm and the Bulldogs (more than 70 per cent increases to $96 million and $91.6 million, respectively).
Seems iffy to me
That's why I wrote above "What are the metrics". The journo does not disclose the metrics used.
At Uni we're told, "If you don't use references and declare sources, your paper is less valuable than dunny roll. Expect a big fat fail."
Is this the same mob that did the covid modelling?
😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣
Is it also based on propety the club owns? That's the only way the Panthers could be in top spot. I once worked for a company that got the sleeve sponsorship at Penrith and, trust me, there wasn't a heap of companies lining up for it. The rest of the clubs seem about right, alhtough I would've expected the Storm to be higher. Carlton & the Eels the only teams on the list not to have won a premiership (or more) in the past 20 years.