Determinants of Professional Sports Firm Values in the United States and Europe: A Comparison Between Sports over the Period 2004-2011

Nicolas Scelles (1) , Boris Helleu (2) , Christophe Durand (2) , Liliane Bonnal (3)

1 University of Stirling
2 CesamS - Centre d'étude sport et actions motrices
3 CRIEF [Poitiers] - Centre de recherche sur l'intégration économique et financière

Since the beginning of the nineties, professional sports firm values have been estimated by American newspapers. In 2004, Forbes proposed for the first time a list of the most valuable European soccer teams. In this article, we compare the determinants of firm values in MLB, the NBA, NFL, NHL, and European soccer over the period 2004-2011. The results show only one variable for which the sign and significance are the same for all the leagues: historical sports performance, with a significantly positive impact in each league. The comparison between the United States and Europe reveals that a majority of differences seem to indicate that the determinants of team values in the United States are not the same as those in Europe. Lastly, we proposed avenues for future research: integrating an international dimension that could be measured through the number of fans on social media and player values.

Mots clés: Team; Forbes; Europe; Professional sports firms; United States; Value

Domaines: Gestion et management

Nicolas Scelles, Boris Helleu, Christophe Durand, Liliane Bonnal. Determinants of Professional Sports Firm Values in the United States and Europe: A Comparison Between Sports over the Period 2004-2011. International Journal of Sport Finance, 2013, 8 (4), pp.280-293. ⟨halshs-02111067⟩