Average IPL franchise valuation may touch $15 billion by 2032: Report | Other Sports News

The average franchise valuation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is projected to reach $15 billion by 2032, up sharply from $1.8 billion in 2026, according to the Fanatic Sports Hurun India’s Most Valuable Sports Teams 2026 report.

The report noted that average IPL franchise valuations have risen significantly since the league’s inception, climbing from $0.1 billion in 2008. It added that IPL franchise values are expected to narrow the gap with the National Football League (NFL), currently the world’s most valuable sports league.

Average NFL franchise valuations stood at $1 billion in 2008 and have grown to $7.1 billion in 2026. They are expected to reach $29.8 billion by 2032, the report said.

Among Indian sports leagues, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), owned by the Shah Rukh Khan family and Mehta Group, emerged as the most valuable franchise. The three-time IPL champion is valued between ₹19,200 crore and ₹22,500 crore in 2026, compared to ₹300 crore at inception.

Mumbai Indians (MI), owned by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, ranked second with a valuation of ₹18,400–21,700 crore. The five-time IPL champion was valued at ₹448 crore at inception.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK), owned by the N Srinivasan family, and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), owned by Sun TV Group, ranked third and fourth, respectively. CSK is valued at ₹18,400–20,700 crore, while SRH is valued at ₹17,500–18,400 crore.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ranked fifth with a valuation of ₹16,700 crore.

Among the top individual earners in the IPL are Virat Kohli, who leads all-time IPL earnings with ₹230.2 crore across 18 seasons, followed by Rohit Sharma with ₹227.2 crore and MS Dhoni with ₹200.3 crore — three athletes each exceeding $25 million in single-league career earnings.

Among women, Smriti Mandhana leads WPL cumulative earnings at ₹13.7 crore. In just four WPL seasons, the top 10 players have collectively earned over ₹90 crore, the report stated.

The report also highlighted the growing scale of sports ownership portfolios in India. GMR Group leads with 10 teams across three sports and three continents, making it the largest sports portfolio among Indian owners. JSW Group follows with seven teams and is the only owner present across four sports — cricket, football, kabaddi, and hockey. Reliance Industries and the Shah Rukh Khan family & Mehta Group own multiple cricket franchises across five countries.

RPSG Group and Sun TV Group have expanded their IPL brands internationally through SA20 in South Africa and The Hundred in England, respectively. Meanwhile, the Adani family and Capri Sports have diversified into emerging domestic leagues, including kho-kho and women’s cricket.

The report said institutional investors have generated substantial returns through investments in Indian sports franchises. Following the sale of Rajasthan Royals (RR), Lachlan Murdoch achieved a 92.1x return, while Blenheim Chalcot (Manoj Badale) and RedBird Capital realised returns of 24.3x and 7.8x, respectively. United Spirits (Diageo) secured a 37.2x return through the sale of RCB.

Earlier this month, RR was acquired by a consortium led by Lakshmi Mittal and Adar Poonawalla at a valuation of $1.65 billion. In March 2026, RCB was sold to a consortium led by the Aditya Birla Group, alongside The Times Group, Bolt Ventures, and Blackstone, valuing the franchise at $1.78 billion.

Newer franchises, however, remain in the early stages of value creation. CVC Capital Partners’ Gujarat Titans (GT) delivered a relatively modest 1.3x return multiple, reflecting the franchise’s early growth phase. Torrent Group acquired a majority stake in GT in February last year.

The report covers six professional leagues and tracks more than 1,300 athletes across cricket, football, kabaddi, hockey, volleyball, and women’s cricket.

Raghav Gupta, founder and chief executive officer, Fanatic Sports, said, “India is becoming a sports-embracing nation. Home to 17.8 per cent of the world’s population, India will not just participate in the global sporting economy — it will reshape it. The business of sport here is becoming its own asset class, with its own audiences, its own economics, and its own heroes.”

According to Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher, Hurun India, there is serious interest among large business families in acquiring teams in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), India’s second-most valuable sports league, because they believe valuations will rise sharply.

Junaid added that when discretionary income doubles, spending on sports — tickets, merchandise, OTT subscriptions, fantasy platforms, fan travel, youth academies — does not grow linearly; it compounds, and the democratisation of Indian sport will give this wave its triple-multiplier effect.

India’s per capita income has just crossed the $2,500 inflection point that economists associate with the shift from essential to discretionary spending, and it is projected to approach $5,000 by 2030, with an estimated 165 million Indians earning over $10,000 a year.

The combined valuation of all 10 IPL franchises stands at ₹1.63 trillion ($18 billion). Fifty-nine teams across six leagues hold 763 brand sponsorship partnerships, with the IPL alone accounting for 307, averaging 13 brand partners per franchise.