Pies Now Bigger Than an NRL Giant – and Yes, It Matters

Righto, get a load of this one. Collingwood has officially overtaken an NRL powerhouse in the latest club brand value rankings for 2026, and get this, we’ve done it with the fastest growth of any club in the competition. Did anyone seriously think this was going to go any other way?

I’ve been saying it for years. The Pies aren’t just a footy club, we’re an industry. An institution. A bloody movement. Now the suits with the spreadsheets have finally caught up to what every black and white army member already knew in their bones.

What Actually Happened Here

For those who don’t follow the business end of footy (fair enough, most of us just want to watch the contest), these brand value rankings look at everything. Membership numbers, media reach, merchandise, sponsorship deals, social following, the lot. It’s basically a measure of how much the world cares about your club.

And in 2026, the world cares about Collingwood more than ever. We’ve leapfrogged a genuine NRL heavyweight, a club that’s had decades of success and premierships to back it up. For an AFL club to jump a rugby league giant in raw brand terms? That’s not a small thing. That’s seismic.

Carn the Pies. Honestly, what else do you say?

Why This Isn’t Just a Vanity Stat

Now I know what some of you are thinking. Who cares about brand value, Daz, just tell us if we can win the flag. Fair question. But hear me out.

Brand value isn’t just corporate wank for the boardroom. It translates directly into what the club can do on-field. More brand power means bigger sponsorship deals. Bigger sponsorship deals mean more cash in the football department. More cash in the football department means better list management, better facilities, better retention of our stars when rival clubs come sniffing with their chequebooks.

You reckon Collingwood keeps luring the best young talent and resigning our best players if we’re some sleepy suburban outfit nobody wants to be associated with? Nah. This stuff matters more than people give it credit for.

The NRL Comparison Stings (In a Good Way)

Let’s be honest, there’s always been a bit of a chip on the shoulder when AFL clubs get compared to the big NRL brands. League has had that national broadcast presence, that northern market swagger, for ages. Southern footy folk have had to just quietly accept it.

So when a Victorian based, hundred-plus-year-old AFL club jumps a genuine NRL powerhouse in brand value terms, it’s a bit of a moment isn’t it? It’s proof that our game, and specifically our club, can go toe to toe with anyone in the country when it comes to cultural weight.

I’m not saying footy is bigger than league nationally, that’s a different argument for a different day. But in terms of pure brand grunt, Collingwood has shown it can mix it with the very best that sport in this country has to offer.

Why Collingwood Specifically

Is anyone really surprised it’s us leading the growth charge? We’re the most talked about club in the country, for better or worse. Love us or hate us, and let’s be real, plenty of footy fans fall into the second camp, you cannot ignore us.

We fill the MCG every single week we play there. Our membership base is enormous and growing. The club has been smart about building out its digital presence too, reaching fans who mightn’t even live near a footy ground but still want their Collingwood content delivered to their phone.

And let’s not forget, we’ve been good on the field too. Success breeds interest. Interest breeds brand value. It’s not rocket science, it’s just footy logic.

The Umpires Haven’t Caught Up Yet Though

Look, I’ll say this much. If the rankings measured how hard done by we’ve been by some ordinary umpiring decisions this year, we’d be even further in front. I’m not saying there’s a conspiracy against the Pies, I’d never say that. But has anyone else noticed how many fifty metre penalties seem to go against us in close games? Just an observation. Make of it what you will.

Anyway, that’s a rant for another column. Back to the good news.

What It Means Going Forward

This surge in brand value should, in theory, keep compounding. The more successful and visible the club is, the more the brand grows, and the more resources flow back into the football program. It’s a flywheel, and right now Collingwood’s flywheel is spinning faster than anyone else’s in the comp.

Rival fans will roll their eyes at this entire column, I know that. They’ll say it’s just marketing fluff, that it doesn’t win premierships. And look, they’re not entirely wrong, brand value alone has never kicked a goal in a prelim final. But I’d argue it’s definately connected to sustained success. Clubs with strong brands attract better commercial partners, which means better player payments, better infrastructure, better everything.

We should of been talking about this stuff more as supporters, because it genuinely impacts what happens on the park come September.

The Bottom Line

Collingwood overtaking an NRL powerhouse in brand value isn’t just a nice headline for the club’s marketing department to stick on a slide somewhere. It’s a genuine signal of where this club sits in the Australian sporting landscape right now.

We’re the biggest club in the biggest game in this country, and now the numbers are backing up what every Collingwood supporter has believed since the day they were born into it, or dragged along to their first game at Victoria Park by their old man.

Other clubs can keep chasing. We’ll keep leading. Carn the Pies, always and forever.