BRW today takes a stab at putting a value on Australia’s biggest football clubs, naming Collingwood the top AFL club and the Brisbane Broncos the most valuable in the NRL.

Australia’s football codes are big business – the AFL, NRL and Australia’s Super 12 teams collected more than $500 million in revenue last year – and they’re heading for a financial bonanza, say John Stensholt and James Thomson, with soaring television ratings and lucrative sponsorhip deals up for grabs.

The AFL’s broadcast rights come up for renegotiation soon – described by media buyer Harold Mitchell as “the most important sporting-rights deal that will happen in the next ten years” – and the battle between the networks is expected to be ferocious. And then there’s Telstra – one AFL club chief executive warns, “they could surf over the top and buy all the rights and then farm them out”.

AFL Top 5

1. Collingwood – $42 million
2. Brisbane – $35 million
3. West Coast – $35 million
4. Hawthorn – $33 million
5. Port Adelaide – $28 million

NRL Top 5

1. Brisbane Broncos – $14 million
2. Newcastle Knights – $12 million
3. Melbourne Storm – $10.8 million
4. St George-Illawarra Dragons – $10 million
5. North Queensland Cowboys – $10 million