Published: Jul 17, 2012

Ferrari Ranked Among Most Valuable Sports Teams

The only F1 team on Forbes list of most valuable sports teams hails from Maranello.

Forbes just released a list of the most valuable sports teams in the world, and as you might expect, its jam-packed with athletic clubs on both sides of the Atlantic. Topping the list were British soccer team Manchester United (valued at $2.23 billion), Spanish footie club Real Madrid ($1.88 billion), the New York Yankees baseball team ($1.85b) and NFL teams the Dallas Cowboys ($1.85b) and Washington Redskins ($1.56b). So why tell you this on a car news app? Because Ferrari's on there, too.

Ferrari Ranked Among Most Valuable Sports Teams

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Valued at $1.1 billion, the Scuderia Ferrari F1 team ranks at 25th place on the Forbes list and stands as the only racing team listed, eclipsing rivals like McLaren. The Italian team's assets are bolstered by a new sponsorship deal brokered with Spanish banking giant Santander, valued at $52 million per year. Although tobacco advertising is banned from F1, Ferrari remains sponsored by Marlboro to the tune of half a billion over the course of three years, despite the company's logo appearing nowhere on the car. What isn't immediately clear is whether Forbes separated the F1 team from the sportscar manufacturing unit that funds it.

Ferrari is, after all, first and foremost a racing team that sells supercars to support its racing efforts. The same might be said of McLaren, which has only made three types of road cars over the years, but would arguably not extend to a company like Mercedes-Benz which builds cars and trucks first and uses its F1 team to promote its vehicles.