# What sports franchise sells the most merchandise? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 20, 2006, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835 "2006-01-20T16:13:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8797f3/32.png) [@Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ins_Outs_What-have-yous)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/1 "2006-01-20T16:13:48Z")
…or I should ask: what sports franchise earns the highest gross profit from sales of merchandise? (per year perhaps?) for 2005? 2004? 2003? ‘Sports franchise’ includes MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, and Div 1 NCAA teams. A friend of mine alleges that a certain university (NCAA) has higher gross sales than any individual professional sports team. However, I am skeptical. So, what’s the Straight Dope? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/2 "2006-01-20T16:18:46Z")
> [@ArchitectChore](#): > > a certain university (NCAA) What certain university would that be, or is there a reason to keep it anonymous? ---
**Author:** ![Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8797f3/32.png) [@Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ins_Outs_What-have-yous)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/3 "2006-01-20T16:24:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Posted by **acsenray** > What certain university would that be, or is there a reason to keep it anonymous? University of Kentucky ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/4 "2006-01-20T16:25:11Z")
> [@ArchitectChore](#): > > A friend of mine alleges that a certain university (NCAA) has higher gross sales than any individual professional sports team. No reason to keep it anonymous. :shrug: My guess is that the “mystery team” is Notre Dame … though it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that the University of Miami is in that class now. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/5 "2006-01-20T16:27:56Z")
> [@ArchitectChore](#): > > University of Kentucky 😕 Probably not. I’d be skeptical, too. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/6 "2006-01-20T16:28:14Z")
The OP’s question is somewhat ambiguous, though, because how do you define “Gross profit”? For instance, some sports leagues share all marketing and merchandising money, in whole or in part. So it is entirely possible that the most popular sports team in terms of merchandising sales could be, say, the Dallas Cowboys, but the Dallas Cowboys themselves do not see all that money. ---
**Author:** ![Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8797f3/32.png) [@Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ins_Outs_What-have-yous)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/7 "2006-01-20T16:38:27Z")
You have a good point **RickJay**. So, what question should I ask instead to eliminate ambliguity? ---
**Author:** ![Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8797f3/32.png) [@Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ins_Outs_What-have-yous)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/8 "2006-01-20T16:46:39Z")
Is net profit more easily defined? ---
**Author:** ![beergeek279](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@beergeek279](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beergeek279)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/9 "2006-01-20T16:47:54Z")
> [@ArchitectChore](#): > > University of Kentucky Yep, color me skeptical of that one…more people are going to wear UK gear than Notre Dame or U of Miami gear!!! ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/10 "2006-01-20T16:54:52Z")
Texas is the #1 NCAA school … [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/big12/2006-01-19-texas-sales\_x.htm](http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/big12/2006-01-19-texas-sales_x.htm) Kentucky didn’t even make the top 10. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/11 "2006-01-20T17:03:49Z")
I suspect that worldwide a good deal of the merchandise is bootlegged. My first thought fromm observation of many a Third World market as well as Americans just walking around is the New York Yankees. I also suspect that Manchester United would be a strong guess if you don’t want to run on the assumption it has to be an American franchise. I’d also be surprised if more than one or two of the top ten American teams were from colleges. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/12 "2006-01-20T17:03:59Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The OP’s question is somewhat ambiguous, though, because how do you define “Gross profit”? The last paragraph of the OP mentioned highest gross sales. That seems less ambiguous, although even then, how do you define that? Is it for only university- or team-owned stores, or all retailers? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/13 "2006-01-20T17:08:46Z")
I have seen that Worldwide: 1. Manchester United 2. Yankees 3. Cowboys Unfortunately I saw this last year in Newsprint and I could be mis-remembering. I can’t find a match in google or ESPN. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8797f3/32.png) [@Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ins_Outs_What-have-yous)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/14 "2006-01-20T17:16:30Z")
\ > [@bordelond](#): > > No reason to keep it anonymous. :shrug: > > My guess is that the “mystery team” is Notre Dame … though it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that the University of Miami is in that class now. > [@](#): > > Originally posted by **beergeek279** > Yep, color me skeptical of that one…more people are going to wear UK gear than Notre Dame or U of Miami gear!!! You are thinking in terms of college football powerhouses. Univ of Kentucky is historically a college basketball powerhouse, although the team is not so this season. UK has more all time wins than any other college b-ball team and the highest home winning percentage all in, IIRC. The state (or ‘commonwealth’ as they say here) of Kentucky lacks pro sports teams and so many people within the population are rabidly enthused with UK basketball. Nonetheless, I still had good reason to be skeptical. Looks like **aktep** provided a definite quantitative answer to top college merchandising royalties in terms of the current academic term. If UK ever held this title, then it would have likely been in the late 90s I suppose when the b-ball won national championships in '96 and '98. So, it’s possible my friend had overheard old data from those days. I still doubt the sales of top college teams eclipse those of the top pro teams. ---
**Author:** ![Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8797f3/32.png) [@Ins\_Outs\_What-have-yous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ins_Outs_What-have-yous)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/15 "2006-01-20T17:22:47Z")
Preview screen didn’t load before during several attempts…so here is my mostly corrected post: You are thinking in terms of college football powerhouses. Univ of Kentucky is historically a college basketball powerhouse, although the team is not so hot this season. UK has more all time wins than any other college b-ball team and the highest home winning percentage all time, IIRC. The state (or ‘commonwealth’ as they say here) of Kentucky lacks pro sports teams and so many people within the population are rabidly enthused with UK basketball. Nonetheless, I still had good reason to be skeptical. Looks like aktep provided a definite quantitative answer to top college merchandising royalties in terms of the current academic term. If UK ever held this title, then it would have likely been in the late 90s I suppose when the b-ball team won national championships in '96 and '98. So, it’s possible my friend had overheard old data from those days. I still doubt the sales of top college teams eclipse those of the top pro teams. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/16 "2006-01-20T17:39:30Z")
Perhaps it might also depend on how merchandise is defined. I could easily see colleges dominating if it includes all clothing and items with the school’s name on it. At some of the large schools, I can see many students who have not only clothing with the school’s name, but also pencils/notebooks with the school’s name on them. [Here](http://cart.garnetandgold.com/) is a site which shows how much Florida State University merchandise is available for purchase. Also, how about the college license plates? ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/17 "2006-01-20T17:56:03Z")
It’s quite possible that a college team sells more merchandise than a pro sports team. Schools like Tennessee, and North Carolina, Duke, UCLA, and USC sell a lot of stuff, especially if you don’t limit it to sports merchandise. [Texas](http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/04/commentary/column_sportsbiz/sportsbiz/?section=money_latest) football (I’d imagine football being the most profitable sector) led this year with revenue of $53.2 million, and a profit of $38.7 million, during the fiscal year that ended in August (they led in licensing [also](http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=rovell_darren&month=1&year=2006)). [This](http://www.sweatshopwatch.org/index.php?s=49&n=19) article states that the college apparel industry is a $3 billion-a-year business, but that UConn “sold $21 million in licensed merchandise in 2003-04 and took in more than $1 million in royalties, jumping into the top 25 highest-earning schools.” (more [stats](http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/longhorns/12/25latexfoot.html)) This is a hard question to answer. I limited the search to some of the most valuable franchises, which I found [here](http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:YwsJHJMdPB0J:msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/4832916+yankees+redskins+manchester+united+value&hl=en). I thought the Yankees would probably sell more than anyone else (if you include NASCAR, they sell $2 billion of merchandise per year). The [Yankees](http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/33/2005/LIR.jhtml?passListId=33&passYear=2005&passListType=Misc&uniqueId=334613&datatype=Misc) made 168 million in “brand management” last year. If a significant percentage of that were merchandise, they would easily make more than any college. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/18 "2006-01-20T17:57:41Z")
> [@ArchitectChore](#): > > Looks like **aktep** provided a definite quantitative answer to top college merchandising royalties in terms of the current academic term. That article only included the schools represented by Collegiate Licensing Co., though, so it’s possible that someone else had higher royalties. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/19 "2006-01-20T21:50:05Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > That article only included the schools represented by Collegiate Licensing Co., though, so it’s possible that someone else had higher royalties. [Here’s a list](http://www.clc.com/clcweb/publishing.nsf/Content/institutions.html) of all CLC clients. A quick look notices that Southern Cal, UCLA, California, Virginia Tech, and Ohio State are not CLC clients, but I don’t know that these schools represent a major threat to the sales records of the CLC schools (USC and Ohio State are referenced in the above article, and do not come close). [Here’s a list](http://www.merchandisegroup.com/merchandise/newsletter/newsletter_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001000559) of top CLC schools for 2004-2005. Notice that: > [@CLC](#): > > This marks the fifth consecutive year the University of North Carolina has ranked #1 in the CLC member institution fiscal year-end rankings. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835/20 "2006-01-20T21:54:41Z")
> [@aktep](#): > > [Here’s a list](http://www.clc.com/clcweb/publishing.nsf/Content/institutions.html) of all CLC clients. A quick look notices that Southern Cal, UCLA, California, Virginia Tech, and Ohio State are not CLC clients, but I don’t know that these schools represent a major threat to the sales records of the CLC schools (USC and Ohio State are referenced in the above article, and do not come close). > > [Here’s a list](http://www.merchandisegroup.com/merchandise/newsletter/newsletter_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001000559) of top CLC schools for 2004-2005. Notice that: I’m not surprised that it would be Carolina. In addition to basketball, there is women’s soccer. Go to a girls tournament someday - it seems that half of the participants have at least one piece of NC gear on. I rarely see anyone wearing Kentucky logoed clothing. I see more Harvard swetshirts than Kentucky ones. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sports-franchise-sells-the-most-merchandise/340835.md?page=2)