Football Brand List makes encouraging reading for MLS sides.

Yesterday’s Brand Finance list of the top 50 football brands made for interesting reading particularly in the lower half of the table with two MLS sides gracing the list for the first time.

Whilst the upper echelons on the table where predictably graced by the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. The bottom half included the Seattle Sounders & Los Angeles Galaxy. It’s a impressive achivement considering the league was only founded in 1993 and is the second youngest league in the list after the Russian Super League.

Understandably the league has significantly benefit from the “Brand Beckham” effect after the former England captain decided to swap Real Madrid for the & Los Angeles Galaxy back in 2007. The league in the last five years has been boosted by further “marquee” signings in the form of Rafael Marquez & Thierry Henry who both signed for the New York Redbulls.

But off the pitch the business development of the league has been impressive. One particular feature, which serves the league well, is the MLS live application. The monthly paid for subscription service allows fans of the league to watch live games via laptop, tablet and even mobile devises. All of which are key digital revenue streams in a country which competes with the commercial muscle of likes of the NBA & NFL. 

Another way in which the league is working is through the firm regulation the clubs. This comes through a number of ways, from the wage caps with all players wages able to be seen online  To the annual MLS draft every January . The league also has a long-term deal in place with Adidas  when a bumper 8-year $150 million deal was signed in 2010. Which is a logical step echoing similar but much larger deals between the NBA & NHL with major sponsors.As a result of the deal the sporting giants means that Adidas are the major kit suppliers for all 19 teams in the league.

In terms of individual teams they also have a successful knack of linking themselves to a number of key commercial partners. Take the Philadelphia Union who have 31 commercial partners listed on the clubs official site. Major brands such as Toyota, Coors Light & Coca-Cola are all affiliated with the side.

The scope for more MLS sides in the Brand Finance list is immence, especially with the likes of Michael Ballack & Alasandro Nesta heavily linked with moves in the summer. So with an infulx of forign superstars and strong sponsorship strategies implemented at league and club level, you can only see more and more clubs in the future. This just proves the “Brand Beckham” experiment is already yielding successful results on a commercial level five years in.