Why the Penrith Panthers’ $129m brand isn’t just about winning
The Penrith Panthers have been named Australia’s most valuable club brand, worth $129m, according to Brand Finance’s 2025 valuation of the AFL - Australian Football League & National Rugby League.
Their dominance isn’t just about winning (although it helps) it’s about repeatability. Four consecutive premierships have built not only success but trust. The Panthers now represent reliability to fans, sponsors, and partners - trust that converts directly into value. Close behind, the Brisbane Broncos ($120m) remain the NRL’s strongest brand with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) of 92.8, the highest across both codes. Their scale, consistency, and cultural reach make them both a community institution and a national entertainment property.
Together, the Panthers and Broncos illustrate two sides of modern brand power: Penrith leads in commercial value, Brisbane leads in brand strength and both show how sustained connection translates into financial return.
Brand Finance’s Royalty Relief model measures how efficiently a club turns attention into revenue. BSI: the combined score of reputation, familiarity, and fan connection: determines the royalty rate applied to projected income from broadcast, sponsorship, membership, and matchday. Stronger brands command higher rates, lifting overall brand value.
Across the NRL, total brand value rose 27%. The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (+80%) and Canberra Raiders (+91%) show how re-engagement and on-field resurgence reignite commercial worth. The Dolphins NRL ($61m) entered the top 10 within two years, leveraging deep regional loyalty and strong storytelling to accelerate brand maturity.
In the AFL, the biggest gains came from outside Victoria. The Brisbane Lions (+82%) reflect not only years of expansion investment paying off, but also back to back premierships that reignited national attention. Collingwood Football Club ($127m) remains the AFL’s most valuable brand, but its 18% dip signals maturity, once reach is maximised, depth of engagement becomes the new frontier.
💡 My closing 5c on what this means…
The results reinforce a simple truth, brand value is built on brand strength. Clubs that invest in connection, credibility, and culture are the ones turning reputation into revenue. Yet digital is still too often seen as discretionary spend, when it’s actually the infrastructure that compounds that value over time.
Digital isn’t just communication, it’s infrastructure. It’s how clubs capture, analyse, and amplify fan connection, turning visibility and sentiment into measurable assets. For executives and boards, digital investment shouldn’t sit in the marketing budget, it belongs in the strategy column. The integration of data, storytelling, and systems builds brand equity that endures beyond performance cycles. Brand strength is no longer retrospective; it’s predictive. The clubs investing in digital capability today aren’t just chasing engagement, they’re building future stability.