Springboks' Value Rockets But Still Way Off World's Top Earners

The value of the Springbok jersey has reportedly surged from R78m to R160m since 2019, while Brand Finance now ranks the Boks as South Africas top sports brand, valued at R2.2bn.

The new Brand Finance South Africa Sports Report ranks the Springboks as the strongest South African sports team in any sporting code, boasting a Brand Strength Index BSI score of 91.9 out of 100. This is a significant lead over other prominent South African sporting teams such as Orlando Pirates 83.2 and Kaizer Chiefs 82.6, with crickets Proteas scoring 79.9.

Sponsorship revenue has outpaced TV rights for the first time, with news reports over teh weekend indicating that SA Rugbys sponsorship income nearly doubled from R420m to R800m in the past year.

However, the Springboks still have a long way to go to catch up to the leading rugby brands, where the All Blacks lead the way. They Boks are also behind England, France and Ireland in a 2023 survey.

Here, we list five of the worlds richest sports brands, according to Forbes' rich list. Unsurprisingly, the Top 10 most valuable sports teams are all America. Meanwhile, Real Madrid of La Liga top the list of the worlds wealthiest football clubs, but their 6.6bn is only good enough for 11th place on the Forbes list, just above Manchester United with 6bn.