The 2022 season may have been a forgettable one for the Mumbai Indians on the pitch, but they have continued to break records off of it as the five-time champions were recently named the most valuable franchise in the Indian Premier League. In a report released by Forbes last week, the Reliance-owned franchise was valued at a whopping $1.3 billion (Rs. 9,968 Cr).
As per the report published by Forbes, Mumbai are valued higher than six MLB ball clubs, 27 NHL teams, and every MLS team, indicating the popularity and growth of the IPL over the past 15 seasons.
In Forbes’ previous valuation of the IPL franchises in 2009, the average value of the eight teams was pegged at $67 million. 13 years later, in their latest results which include the expansion of two new teams – Lucknow and Gujarat – the average valuation is now at $1.04 billion, indicating an annual growth rate of 24%.
By comparison, over the same 13-year period, the valuation of NFL teams has only grown by 10% (average value of $3.48 billion) and the growth rate in the NBA has been 16% (average value of $2.48) billion. While both of those competitions have 30 teams each and dwarf the IPL in terms of overall market value, cricket’s most popular league has shown that it is amongst the fastest-growing sporting properties and belongs in the conversation alongside the titans of American and European sport.
In 2008, each of the eight new owners paid approximately $90 million to acquire a franchise. 13 years later, the Sanjeev Goenka-owned RPG group paid $950 million to buy a new franchise (Lucknow Super Giants) while CVC Capital spent $750 million for the Gujarat Titans. These expansion fees will be paid over ten years by the new owners and will be redistributed equally between the BCCI and the existing eight franchisees.
The reasons behind the massive jump in valuation over the past decade is two-fold, with the increase in popularity of the competition – 660 million viewers in 2021 – and the economic model and profitability of the ten teams leading to the surge in net worth.
Here are the valuations of the ten IPL franchises in 2022.
1. Mumbai Indians – $1.3 billion
2. Chennai Super Kings – $1.15 billion
3. Kolkata Knight Riders – $1.1 billion
4. Lucknow Super Giants – $1.075 billion
5. Delhi Capitals – $1.035 billion
6. Royal Challengers Bangalore – $1.025 billion
7. Rajasthan Royals – $1 billion
8. Sunrisers Hyderabad – $970 million
9. Punjab Kings – $925 million
10. Gujarat Titans – $850 million
[Featured Image Credit: Mumbai Indians]
Shivaan Shah