Another accolade for the Kraft franchise. Team Owner Bob Kraft has done a fantastic job of running the Patriots since he took over ownership- a job that has fans all over the world loving his product. Forbes has declared the New England Patriots the 10th most valuable sports team brand in the world.
Forbes says that "brand value" is:
the portion of a team's overall value that is derived from its name as opposed to its market and league
I interpret (and correct me if I'm wrong) this definition as saying that brand value is how much a team is worth when rating their merchandise sales, their desirability for television contracts as well as how much of an influence the team has in other sales not directly related towards tickets.
The Patriots are ranking as the #2 NFL team, behind the Dallas Cowboys, but Forbes asserts that the Patriots:
draw the highest local TV ratings among AFC teams in the 15 largest media markets in the U.S.
Which means that there are Patriots fans all over the United States! (Sorry Comedic.Sans!) The Patriots have gained fan support largely in part of their success in this decade and we should look for Patriots Nation to grow over the next decade as the Patriots bring in even more success.
The list features: 5 International Soccer teams, 3 Baseball teams and 2 Football teams. The Patriots are accompanied by the Boston Red Sox, who fill in at #8 overall, showing the strength of the Boston market in regards to fan support. The Boston sports market has always had a fervent fan base that involves sports are part of the city's culture.
Hopefully the Patriots grow with their increased global popularity and continue to put solid product on the football field.