Forbes lists Woods, Nike among most valuable sports brands

• By Will Gray
• Nov 10, 2012 10:16 AM ET

In a list of the top worldwide brands, Forbes declared Tiger Woods as the most valuable athlete brand and Nike the most valuable business brand in sports.

Calculating athlete brand value as sponsorship income minus the average of endorsement income for the top ten athletes in a given sport, Forbes valued Woods' brand at $38 million. He was one of two golfers to crack the top 10, along with Phil Mickelson who was tied for third with a value of $26 million. Tennis player Roger Federer was listed behind Woods at $29 million, while Mickelson was tied with NBA superstar LeBron James and soccer player David Beckham.

Nike, which counts Woods among its top players, was valued at $15.9 billion. It was deemed the most valuable business brand using an equation that takes the estimated market value the brand would command in an arm's length transaction minus the value of a typical industry peer of equal size. Second among business brands was ESPN at $11.5 billion, with Adidas third at $6.8 billion. As reports continue that Nike may be on the verge of signing World No. 1 Rory McIlroy, their valuation may be set to increase should they move into 2013 counting the top two golfers in the world among their roster of players.

The report also listed the Super Bowl ($470 million) as the most valuable event in sports, while the New York Yankees ($363 million) were deemed to be the most valuable team in sports.