Advertisement

Austin FC is now ranked as one of the most valuable soccer teams in the world

beck andrew salgado, austin american-statesman
·3 min read
Austin FC fans Ryan Palumbo, left, and Doron Silberstein hold up scarves during a game at Q2 Stadium in February. The club is valued at $800,000, sixth-best in Major League Soccer.
Austin FC fans Ryan Palumbo, left, and Doron Silberstein hold up scarves during a game at Q2 Stadium in February. The club is valued at $800,000, sixth-best in Major League Soccer.

Still new to the world soccer scene, Austin FC is going toe-to-toe with long-standing clubs worldwide as it has made its debut on the list of most valuable soccer teams on Earth.

The list, which is published by sports finance and analytics website Sportico, has Austin FC slotted at No. 21 on a list that features 50 clubs from around the world.

With an estimated value of $800 million, Austin FC — which is in its fourth season — is the youngest team on this list by a sizable margin. The team's success is a testament to how a city hungry for professional sports has embraced its first major pro sports team.

Who tops the list, and where do other MLS clubs rank?

As you might have guessed, the top of Sportico's list is populated by English, German and Spanish giants. The top five teams in this year's rankings are Manchester United ($6.2 billion), Real Madrid ($6.06 billion), FC Barcelona ($5.28 billion) , Liverpool ($5.11 billion) and Bayern Munich ($4.8 billion).

Major League Soccer, despite being a relatively new league on the world stage, was well-represented in the top 20 as five teams were ranked ahead of Austin FC. The MLS clubs included in the top 20 were: LAFC (No. 15, $1.15 billion), Atlanta United (No. 17, $1.05 billion), Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami (No. 18, $1.02 billion), the LA Galaxy (No. 19, $1 billion) and New York City FC (No. 20, $840 million).

Midfielder Emiliano Rigoni controls the ball for Austin FC in a game this month. The fourth-year team is the youngest on Sportico's list of the 50 most valuable soccer franchises in the world.
Midfielder Emiliano Rigoni controls the ball for Austin FC in a game this month. The fourth-year team is the youngest on Sportico's list of the 50 most valuable soccer franchises in the world.

Austin FC's value grew by $170 million last year

Austin FC continues to grow rapidly as its sixth-place ranking in MLS is three spots higher than Sportico ranked the club last season.

According to the website, the club's value grew from $630 million to $800 million after the 2023 season — and it excelled in each of the magazine's core financial measures.

Jader Obrian celebrates his goal against Sporting Kansas City this month at Q2 Stadium. Austin FC's value is helped by fans buying souvenirs such as jerseys.
Jader Obrian celebrates his goal against Sporting Kansas City this month at Q2 Stadium. Austin FC's value is helped by fans buying souvenirs such as jerseys.

How does Sportico measure the value of an MLS team?

Sportico combines the current market value of a franchise with the value of team-related businesses and real estate holdings to determine the rankings.

The first major category, MLS franchise valuation, is described by the website as being “derived from metrics by which soccer team transactions typically occur, including aggregating local and national revenues and factoring in a team-specific multiplier.”

This includes the value of each franchise’s 3.4% interest in Soccer United Marketing — the marketing arm of MLS — which is acquired/dispossessed in tandem with the sale of a team.

The other category is the value of a franchise or franchise owner’s equity in team-related businesses. According to Sportico, “These assets represent a small percentage of MLS total values at this stage; the predominant value in most cases involves training complexes and new stadiums owned by teams, although a government organization often owns the land underneath the home venues.”

From left, Austin FC's Alex Ring, Emiliano Rigoni, Brendan Hines-Ike, Julio Cascante, Diego Rubio and Jader Obrian defend a free kick in a game this month. The club has the 11th-best attendance record in MLS, despite many teams having a larger venue than Q2 Stadium.
From left, Austin FC's Alex Ring, Emiliano Rigoni, Brendan Hines-Ike, Julio Cascante, Diego Rubio and Jader Obrian defend a free kick in a game this month. The club has the 11th-best attendance record in MLS, despite many teams having a larger venue than Q2 Stadium.

How did Austin FC become so valuable so fast?

Since its first season in MLS, Austin FC has continued to grow in important financial statistics such as revenue and value. In 2021, the team's estimated revenue was $50.5 million, and that has grown in 2023 to approximately $87 million, according to Forbes.

Sportico's $800 million value for Austin FC is a substantial increase from the $575 million that it estimated two years ago. Some of this financial success and increasing value can be attributed to reliable consumption by fans.

According to MLS, the jersey of star playmaker Sebastián Driussi is the fourth-most purchased in the league. Moreover, according to soccer media outlet GOAL, Austin FC boasts the 11th-best attendance record in MLS, despite many teams having a larger venue than Q2 Stadium.

One area of growth for the club is its social media presence as its Instagram profile, which has 206,000 followers, is on the lower end of the MLS table.

Beck Andrew Salgado covers trending topics in the Austin business ecosystem for the American-Statesman. To share additional tips or insights with Salgado, email Bsalgado@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: How did Austin FC become one of the most valued soccer teams on earth?