You've Been Watching the Wrong Scoreboard
Watching the IPL as a fan and understanding it as a business are completely different skills. Most students pursuing a postgraduate course in sports management only develop the first one. That is not a criticism. It is just that nobody really teaches the second one, and that gap is exactly where your opportunity sits.
The IPL is not just a tournament. It is one of the most sophisticated sports business ecosystems in the world, generating over $1.2 billion in domestic media revenue in 2025 alone. [1] If you are in a sports management program without paying attention to the economics behind it, you are preparing for an industry you have not actually looked at yet.
How IPL Franchises Actually Make Money
Here is something most fans do not realise. A team that finishes last in the IPL still makes serious money.
The IPL business model runs on three layers:
Central Revenue Pool Every franchise receives a guaranteed share from the BCCI's central pool, drawn from the media rights deal worth ₹48,390 crore for 2023 to 2027. [2] Mumbai Indians alone received ₹227 crore from this pool in FY23, before a single ticket was sold or a single sponsor signed. [3]
Sponsorships and Merchandise Franchises build independent revenue through brand partnerships. Mumbai Indians led the league in 2025 with 37 brand partnerships generating around $25 million in sponsorship revenue alone. [1] Their total revenue hit ₹737 crore in FY24, making them the highest-earning team in the IPL. [3]
Matchday Income Ticket sales, hospitality packages, and stadium experiences add a third revenue stream on top.
Win or lose, the income keeps coming. That guaranteed floor combined with brand-driven upside is what makes IPL franchises attractive to serious investors. It is not a gamble on results. It is a recurring revenue model dressed in cricket whites.
When a Cricket Team Becomes a Financial Asset
The two franchise sales just before IPL 2026 tell you everything about where this industry is going.
Rajasthan Royals sold for $1.63 billion to a US-based investment group led by Arizona-based tech entrepreneur Kal Somani, backed by Walmart heir Rob Walton and the Hamp family. [4] Then RCB was bought for $1.78 billion by a group that included Aditya Birla Group, Blackstone, and David Blitzer, an American sports investor who also owns stakes in Crystal Palace, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Washington Commanders, and four other major league clubs across the US and UK. [5] Blitzer had every major sport in the world to choose from. He chose an IPL franchise.
Mumbai Indians makes the logic even clearer. The Ambanis bought the team in 2008 on a bet that the tournament would survive. Today MI has expanded into leagues across South Africa, the UAE, the Caribbean, and England. They are not running a cricket team. They are running a global sports brand that uses cricket as its engine.
Franchise value in the IPL is driven by media penetration, brand equity, and long-term revenue visibility, not trophies. A sports management professional who understands that distinction thinks about this industry completely differently from someone who does not.
The Career No One's Filling Yet
Most sports management graduates can plan an event or run a social media calendar. Far fewer can explain why a private equity firm pays a 20x revenue multiple for a cricket franchise, how a broadcast deal structures payouts across ten teams, or what drives sponsorship pricing in a league with guaranteed viewership.
IPL's total business value touched $18.5 billion in 2025, [6] and the talent pool that genuinely understands the business behind it has not kept pace. Students coming out of a rigorous one year masters program in sports management, one that actually engages with these questions, walk into this industry at a different level entirely.
Start With One Question
You do not need to wait. Pick one question that genuinely puzzles you and follow it properly.
Why did Mumbai Indians expand globally instead of focusing on winning more titles? Why does a last-place team still profit? Why did Blackstone invest in a cricket franchise?
Start there. Then read one franchise's ownership story. Find one interview with an IPL CEO. Follow one sports business journalist for a month. None of this costs money. It costs attention, which is rarer than people admit.
The student who can answer these questions walks into this industry at a completely different level. The match is already on. Most people are just watching the cricket.
Which one do you want to be?
Jio Institute's 1-Year PGP in Sports Management, based at its campus in Ulwe, Navi Mumbai, is built for exactly that. The programme covers franchise management, sports marketing, media strategy, analytics, and commercial operations, preparing you for the roles that actually exist in this industry today.
Explore the PGP in Sports Management at Jio Institute and take the first step toward a career that turns your understanding of sport into something professionally valuable. Visit the Jio Institute website and apply now.
References
[1] GlobalData / GlobeNewswire — The Indian Premier League (IPL) Report 2025: $1.21 Billion Domestic Media Revenue Projected, June 9, 2025. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/06/09/3095670/0/en/The-Indian-Premier-League-IPL-Report-2025-1-21-Billion-Domestic-Media-Revenue-Projected.html
[2] BCCI Official Announcement — Successful Bidders for IPL Media Rights 2023–2027, June 14, 2022. https://www.iplt20.com/news/3844/bcci-announces-the-successful-bidders-for-acquiring-the-media-rights-for-the-indian-premier-league-seasons-2023-2027
[3] CricTracker — Mumbai Indians Make INR 109 Crore Profit in FY24, March 2025. https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-news/mumbai-indians-make-inr-109-crore-profit-in-fy-2024/
[4] ESPNcricinfo — Rajasthan Royals Sold to Consortium of US-Based Investors for $1.635 Billion, March 25, 2026. https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/ipl-2026-rajasthan-royals-rr-consortium-us-based-investors-bid-to-completely-buy-rr-1529072
[5] Aditya Birla Group Official Press Release — Aditya Birla Group, Times of India Group, Bolt Ventures and Blackstone to Acquire Royal Challengers Bengaluru, March 24, 2026. https://www.adityabirla.com/media/press-releases/aditya-birla-group-the-times-of-india-group-bolt-ventures-and-blackstone-to-acquire-cricket-franchise-royal-challengers-bengaluru/
[6] Houlihan Lokey — IPL Brand Valuation Study 2025, July 8, 2025. https://hl.com/media/x1kcmcty/houlihan-lokey-ipl-2025-valuation-study.pdf