The IPL is not just a league of sixes, fours, and entertainment, but it is also one of the most richest cricket leagues in the world. To get an idea of this, consider how huge the IPL brand has become in terms of money in a relatively short period of time by viewing the top richest teams in IPL and their brand value.
In terms of money, it is competing against a few of the world’s most powerful leagues, like the NFL, NHL, and EPL. The IPL has grown and made money to the same extent that these leagues have over a long period of time.
Although it began in 2008 and achieved Unicorn status in its first year, the 2022 season was extremely successful, with IPL being named Decacorn and valued at $10 billion USD.
Read More: IPL Title Sponsorship Price
Since 2008, the IPL has grown at a 24% annual rate, well outpacing top American leagues such as the NFL, NBA, and NHL. The increase rate for NFL franchise values has been 10% during the last 13 years, and 16% for NBA team values.
The average franchise valuation in the IPL is $1.04 billion USD (2022), making it one of the most valuable leagues in the world.
| Year | Average Franchise Valuation |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 67 Million USD |
| 2023 | 10. 04 Billion USD |
The top ten richest teams in the IPL, with valuations ranging from $850 million to $1.15 billion, are the Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings, and Gujarat Titans.
Now, we will look at the yearly brand value or yearly net worth of IPL since 2008.
Now, we will look at the brand value or net worth of most valuable IPL team.
Mumbai Indians Brand Value
The Mumbai Indians have become the IPL’s most prosperous franchise. It is one of the richest and most valuable teams in IPL 2023, based on Forbes’s valuation.
| Value | $1.3 billion |
| Revenue | $33 million |
| Operating Income | $5.5 million |
After beating Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians rapidly climbed to the top of the IPL brand value list. Sponsorships, ticket sales, and television rights, which are becoming more valuable with each passing season, are the main sources of income for Mumbai Indians.
Mumbai Indians also have a huge fan following on their social media accounts. They keep their audience interested by posting new content on their social media sites on a regular basis.
Another reason Mumbai has so much net worth in the IPL is because of the attachment of Rohit Sharma factor and winning the most IPL championships.
CSK Brand Value
Chennai Super Kings is the second richest team in the IPL after Mumbai Indians. Moreover, Chennai was the first team that acquired the status of a unicorn or one billion USD enterprise in IPL.
The main reason for CSK’s highest net worth is a collaboration with some of the biggest sponsors in India. Furthermore, MS Dhoni captaincy factor is a major contributor to Chennai Super King’s success as the richest franchise in IPL.
| Value | $1.15 billion |
| Revenue | $41.2 million |
| Operating Income | $14.8 million |
Historically, CSK was not a popular team at the beginning of IPL. But after some seasons, it invested heavily in some of the finest players in World Cricket. That finest player played under the finest captain of the world known as MS Dhoni. It proved to be a wise move for CSK as they started winning IPL seasons and eventually led the table for most trophies. All of this strategy resulted in an improvement in the overall brand value and net worth of the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.
KKR Brand Value
Kolkata Knight Riders are the third richest team in IPL after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. Prior to 2012, the Kolkata Knight Riders were an unremarkable team best recognized for its association with Shah Rukh Khan.
However, after winning the 2012 season, they turned their focus to being a true cricket franchise with higher brand value. They performed the same approach and won the 2014 IPL season, which resulted in major sponsorship deals for future seasons.
| Value | $1.1 billion |
| Revenue | $41.2 million |
| Operating Income | $14.1 million |
The key reason for Kolkata Knight Riders’ success is the greatest mentors they had in the past. Wasim Akram was one of them, and he helped to steer the team in the right direction, which Shah Rukh Khan appreciated.
LSG Brand Value
Lucknow Super Giants is a new franchise in IPL. It showed its worth in its first season with the help of some of the top players in today’s cricket. It secured a value of more than one billion USD in its very early season.
| Value | $1.075 billion |
| Revenue | N/A |
| Operating Income | N/A |
Andy Flower and Gautam Gambhir were appointed as their first mentors. They guided their players very well and showed outstanding performance for their fans in the first season. As of 2022, LSG was the fourth most valuable team in IPL history. This shows the future potential of LSG in terms of money and value.
Moreover, LSG has also engaged a lot of sponsors with them. It’s unusual for a squad that just started playing last season.
Delhi Capitals Brand Value
The Delhi Capitals franchise joined the Indian Premier League in 2008, and since then, the team has gone by a change of names, first as the Delhi Daredevils and finally as the Delhi Capitals.
Delhi Capitals brand is the fifth largest in IPL and has an estimated valuation of more than one billion USD.
| Value | $1.035 billion |
| Revenue | $35.4 million |
| Operating Income | $8.3 million |
Among the several ways Delhi Capitals makes money, ticket sales are one of the biggest. In addition to ticket revenues, this franchise also profits from the sale of media rights. The Delhi Capitals have also benefited greatly from winning prize money. They did this in the 2022 IPL season when they made it into the final of the league.
RCB Brand Value
Royal Challengers Bangalore is part of IPL since the start of the league in 2008. With each new IPL season, RCB has gained a lot of value in terms of money and brands. It has one of the largest followings in the IPL with a highly strong social media presence. This team has a fan-only TV station, similar to Mumbai and Chennai.
| Value | $1.025 billion |
| Revenue | $36.4 million |
| Operating Income | $9.7 million |
Another source of money for RCB comes through the selling of merchandise and revenue from ticket sales. In fact, during the past few years, one of RCB’s most lucrative income sources has been ticket sales.
Additionally, sponsorship has a significant positive impact on RCB’s overall brand value. RCB had some of the biggest companies as their brand and Qatar Airways is one of the leading brands that paid them very well. Not only, Qatar Airways but Reliance Jio has also been one of the principal sponsors of RCB.
Read More: Who is the King of IPL
RR Brand Value
In the first IPL season in 2008, the Rajasthan Royal team showed their potential. They won the first season of IPL under the captaincy of Legend Shane Warne. As a result, the Royals’ brand worth enhanced significantly following their first season victory.
Rajasthan was the least expensive team before IPL 2008 with a net worth of 67 million USD. However, after the 2008 season, which it won, its net value increased. As a result, the Rajasthan Royals’ brand value showed an upward trend.
| Value | $1 billion |
| Revenue | $31.7 million |
| Operating Income | $6.6 million |
Now, we will look at the main income source of Rajasthan Royals. One of Royals’ primary sources of income has been the media rights it has with well-known radio partners.
Rajasthan has one of the highest numbers of fan followers on all social media accounts which is in the millions. Moreover, it also sells merchandise and relies on Sponers for big revenue and money.
SRH Brand Value
After the financial collapse of the Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad started its IPL season in 2012. Since then, SRH has achieved several achievements in IPL, raising the value of their overall brand value. The Covid-19 season produced an adverse impact on SRH’s valuation, which fell by 4% of its original net worth.
| Value | $970 million |
| Revenue | $31.8 million |
| Operating Income | $3.2 million |
Sales of merchandise, tickets, prize money, sponsorships, and media rights are the main sources of revenue for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
SRH’s overall success had its ups and downs, but it greatly improved under David Warner and Kane Williamson’s direction. SRH won its first IPL trophy in 2016 which was the biggest success and impacted positively the overall brand value of SRH.
Punjab Kings Brand Value
Since the IPL’s beginning, Punjab Kings have emerged as a very dominant team. Despite the notable exception of the 2014 season, when they finished second and they topped the league points table in almost every season.
In the 2022 season of IPL they made one of the highest bids for Sam Curran which was 18 crores of Indian rupees. This bid revealed their net worth and highlighted their excellent earnings from IPL seasons.
| Value | $925 million |
| Revenue | $31.2 million |
| Operating Income | $9.8 million |
Sales of merchandise, tickets, prize money, sponsorships, and media rights are the main sources of revenue for Punjab Kings.
Gujarat Titans Brand Value
Gujrat Titans played their first season of IPL in 2022. They had a big fan base in the IPL stadium thanks to their victory in the first season in 2022. In the IPL 2022 season, captain Hardik Pandya was important in assisting his club to win the championship. Here is the brand value, revenue, and net income of Gurarat Titans.
| Value | $850 million |
| Revenue | N/A |
| Operating Income | N/A |
Sales of merchandise, tickets, prize money, sponsorships, and media rights are the main sources of revenue for GT.
