Cricket is one of the biggest sports in the world in terms of spectators. In fact, it is often said to be second only to soccer when you focus purely on viewing figures. The problem with this is that it doesn’t always translate into cash, with most of the world’s biggest cricket leagues having only been founded in the last 5 or 10 years. In this guide we’ll look at how cricket compares to other top sports to see if we can gauge how it stands in the global marketplace while estimating what kind of future it has.
Richest Teams in the World
The Indian Premier League is the richest cricket league in the world, and the Mumbai Indian are one of the richest teams in the world. This league has come a very long way in a short space of time, and with a brand value of over $100 million, the Mumbai Indians have grown just as big just as quickly.
This doesn’t really compare to other sports and leagues and there is a huge disparity between the richest cricket teams and the richest teams in other sports. The Dallas Cowboys, who play in the NFL, and Manchester United, who play in the Premier League, are both worth more than $4 billion, and there are several other soccer and American football teams (as well as teams in MLB and the NBA) worth more than $3 billion.
Richest Players in the World
There are several Indian players on the list of the richest cricketers in the world. Virat Kohli leads the way with a net worth of more than $90 million, followed by MS Dhoni whose worth has been estimated at $70 million.
There are many players who are also said to be worth more than $30 million, with the average worth for a top player estimated to be around $5 to $10 million. This is a lot of money, but it pales in comparison to some of the biggest sports stars in the world.
In the years of his last two fights, the boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. made over $200 million, while soccer stars Messi and Ronaldo make in excess of $80 million a year. And that’s just their salary, not their net worth. Still, while cricket stars don’t come close to soccer stars, boxing champions or top US sports stars, they do eclipse the money made by most players in other sports, including pool and snooker, rugby, athletics, handball, and more.
Richest Leagues in the World
For the most part, cricket leagues are not as profitable as other sporting leagues. But they are still profitable and they have received a huge influx of cash in recent years, taking just a decade to do what many other major leagues spent generations tying to accomplish.
One of the richest leagues in the world is the English Premier League, but the NFL and NBA are also right up there. These generate millions in broadcasting rights, sponsorship and more, and they are able to pay their teams some of this money in prize funds. The IPL has a brand value of over $5 billion, which means it is greater than a huge number of sports and also manages to top major soccer leagues, without really coming close to the EPL, NFL or NBA.
It is an impressive feat for such a short lived league.
Gambling
One of the best indicators of sporting success is the gambling industry. The more gambling money a sport generates, the more interest there is, and the more money there is for it. It’s no coincidence that the English Premier League is the biggest league in the world and has happens to generate more bets than any other league.
The IPL is one of the biggest cricket leagues to bet on and is actually growing in popularity with other cricket nations, including England and Australia. Cricket betting sites are seeing a huge increase in the number of bets taken on this sport and this league, and that is helping to boost gambling sponsors in the game, which is bringing more money into it.
Another huge factor is the recent change in Indian’s gambling laws. These have switched in order to cater for the increased demand and as a result additional funds are pouring into the sport and into the country in general.
Whatever happens, it’s fair to say that cricket, and the IPL in general, has a very profitable future and also has a pretty profitable present.
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