Aston Martin F1 could match NFL franchise values, says commercial chief

• Aston Martin has been “setting the standard for valuations on a revenue multiple basis”
• Forbes valued team at US$3.2bn, less than all NFL and NBA teams
• Mercedes valuation of US$6bn “should be where we’re going”, according to Slack

There is no reason why the Aston Martin Formula One team cannot eventually be worth the same as National Football League (NFL) franchises, according to the outfit’s managing director of commercial and marketing Jefferson Slack.

Forbes released its latest valuations of the Formula One grid last week, with Ferrari topping the list at an estimated US$6.5 billion. That figure places Ferrari above more than half of NFL teams, all but five National Basketball Association (NBA) franchises, and every soccer club except Real Madrid and Manchester United.

Aston Martin, meanwhile, were valued at US$3.2 billion, which is just under half of Ferrari’s valuation. It is an impressive figure when considering the team was valued at US$1.3 billion as recently as November 2023, but it still sits below every franchise in the NFL and NBA in Forbes’ estimates.

Formula One’s financial growth in recent years has been exponential and Slack believes Aston Martin have been “setting the standard for valuations on a revenue multiple basis”. The question now is how much further that growth can go.

“There’s still a revenue multiple arbitrage for F1 teams at five, six, seven [times], whatever that is, but NBA teams are ten or 12 wide,” Slack told BlackBook Motorsport at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

“There shouldn’t be big differences in that, so I think we can get more to that multiple and you continue the top line … there’s no reason why we cant be worth [the same as] an NFL team.

“I think Mercedes now is worth more than a few NFL teams, but that should be where we’re going.”

While Slack is bullish about his team’s growth prospects, he also commended Liberty Media for building a strong financial foundation for the sport.

“That’s a positive valuation [from Forbes] and this is a sport where, 20 years ago, you’d pay US$1 and then you’d lose a lot of money,” he said.

“It’s a testament to lots of things. Liberty has done an incredible job – the budget cap, Drive to Survive, all of these things that have come together that have made the sport valuable.”

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Slack also noted that the influx of institutional capital is helping the sport fully realise its financial growth potential.

“Every day you read about big financial institutions like Apollo creating a sports group, CVC has just consolidated all their sports under one entity … so it’s a virtuous circle of scale,” he said, adding that the scarcity enjoyed by Formula One, thanks to having “no promotion [or] relegation”, has helped valuations soar.

But is there a limit to this growth?

“You’re maybe not growing [on] a percentage basis as much just because of the numbers issue, but on an absolute basis I think we can,” Slack explained. “I don’t see why we would stop growing on an absolute basis. 

“Maybe we’re not growing as high [on a] percentage basis. Just like any growth business [there’s a] certain point the number gets really big … but I don’t see it flattening.”

For Slack, Formula One’s only real financial threat is macro-economic disruption, such as recession or geopolitical conflict, given the scale of its current trajectory. Still, he cautions that the sport shouldn’t get too ahead of itself.

“I think we can’t be arrogant about it and we really have to deliver to our fans, so I think fan engagement is really fundamental,” said Slack.

“It’s probably not natural for the sport, but you’re hearing a lot of B2C companies, obviously Pepsi’s come in, Disney … and they’re mainstream B2C businesses, and I think some of those are also coming to some teams.

“So if you keep doing that and then those companies that have billions of dollars of advertising expenditure promote the sport as well, you continue the virtuous circle.”