Why The Indian Premier League is the Next NFL

Q: How is the Indian Premier League similar to the NFL?

The Indian Premier League is being compared to the NFL due to its rapid growth, popularity, and lucrative media rights deals.

Q: What are the current media rights trends in sports?

Current trends indicate a significant increase in media rights valuations, leading to discussions about a potential bubble in sports broadcasting.

Q: Why are experts concerned about the media rights bubble?

Experts are concerned that the escalating costs of media rights could lead to unsustainable financial models for leagues and broadcasters.

Q: What impact could the media rights bubble have on the IPL?

If the media rights bubble bursts, it could affect the financial stability and growth potential of the IPL and similar leagues.

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Why The Indian Premier League is the Next NFL

“When will the media rights bubble pop?”

This is a question we hear get asked at every single sport business conference that The 4th Quarter has attended.

Bear case logic: streaming and broadcasting platforms are already stretched too thin. At some point, the price will get too high. Rights values can’t keep compounding at this rate forever. And with league valuations tied to media rights value, franchise valuations will stagnate long-term.

While presumptuous, it's a fair question. A hard one to answer for U.S. leagues right now, where the NFL, NBA, and WNBA are all still early innings of their media rights cycles (and we’ll have see how these NFL media rights renegotiations go).

But for the IPL – the biggest cricket league in the world – we’ve just got our answer, and it’s not what anyone expected.

According to a recent report by Media Partners Asia, the IPL’s upcoming 2028-32 rights cycle is projected to hold flat at $5.4B (~$1.1B per year). No growth, despite the league expanding its regular season from 14 to 18 games and crossing 1B+ digital viewers in 2025 – a 60% jump YoY.

And get this… media rights account for 75% of an IPL’s franchise revenue. If rights are flat, you’d expect valuations to follow.

Investors don’t think so.

This week, the Rajasthan Royals officially sold to the Mittal-Poonawalla consortium at $1.65B, a 24.6x return over nearly two decades. Last month, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru sold to an Aditya-Birla-led consortium, which includes Blackstone and David Blitzer, for a record $1.78B, cementing the arrival of U.S. capital into the IPL.

So how do you square a stagnant media rights deal with franchise valuations that keep soaring?

For all its scale and profitability, the IPL is still – in its own way – an emerging league with underdeveloped revenue lines to where a property of this scale should be.

In this article, we’ll break down what levers IPL ownership will pull to grow franchise value when the biggest revenue line may not move.

Why the IPL is so Valuable, And Why Its Media Rights Are Stagnating

First, let’s answer the obvious question: why are U.S. investors, even major PE funds like Blackstone, paying $1.5B+ per franchise for a cricket league in India?

Front Office Sports published a great article How Private Equity Fell in Love With Indian Cricket that broke it all down.

Here’s the short version:

Closed-league System: The IPL's ten franchises operate in a closed league with no promotion-relegation threat – same structure as the major U.S. leagues. That protects media rights value and keeps franchise asset values stable.
Favorable Cost Structure: Player wages run ~20% of revenue versus ~50% in the NBA and NFL. Salary caps are set via BCCI-run auctions in three-year cycles, giving investors forward visibility on future spend.
No PE Ownership Caps: Unlike American leagues, there's no ceiling on private equity ownership. CVC Capital owned 100% of the Gujarat Titans until selling a 67% stake to Torrent Group in early 2025.

Another reason to note – the league’s financial and viewership scale is like none other:

So why are media rights stagnating, then?

For one, India's two biggest broadcast and streaming platforms – Viacom18 and Disney Star – merged in 2024, collapsing the bidding competition the IPL relied on to push rights fees higher.

Second, advertising revenue has decelerated to a 7% CAGR, down from 18% in the prior rights cycle. This can be attributed to the Indian government banning real-money gaming and crypto advertising, stripping two of the IPL's biggest ad categories.

Third, India's CPM is structurally lower than the U.S. or Europe. Yes , the country’s fast-growing middle class and overall spending will scale advertising spend long-term. But India’s broadcast giants are already absorbing $1.8-2B in losses over the current rights cycle – there's no room to write a bigger check, even as the audience scales.

The surface read is that the IPL is a mature league: stable, profitable, heavily media-rights-anchored.

But that framing misses something.

No mature league is as dependent on a single revenue line. In the NBA, NFL, and MLB, broadcast revenue sits alongside robust ticket, sponsorship, and commercial income. In the IPL, media rights account for 75% of franchise revenue vs. 40-50% in American leagues.

What this tells us is that there’s a lot of runway left.

And these three levers are where new ownership groups are going to optimize:

Matchday revenue: Stadium transformation and mixed-use real estate
Sponsorships:Naming rights, fan data monetization, and global sponsors
Globalization: Can cricket become the next truly global professional sport?

Here’s how they play out.

Boosting Matchday Revenue and Expanding Real Estate

A unique aspect of the IPL is that none of its franchises own their stadiums. They lease from state cricket associations – non-profit bodies affiliated with the BCCI – who legally own and operate the grounds. Ticket revenue is split: 80% to the franchise, 20% to the state association.

While this might seem like a headwind, institutional capital has become a major catalyst for stadium renovations.

Take the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who play at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium – owned by the State Government of Karnataka and operated by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).

Just weeks after the Birla-Blitzer-Blackstone acquisition, the KSCA president announced a major renovation plan, expanding capacity from 34K → 54K.

It's about time. The stadium was built in the 1970s and long overdue for an upgrade.

And given the new ownership group's pedigree in real estate and premium experiences — Blitzer's deep stadium portfolio across global sports and Blackstone's position as the largest commercial real estate operator in India, expect a significant boost in amenities, premium seating, and the overall fan experience.

And that wasn’t the only stadium upgrade announcement in April:

Eden Gardens (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Capacity: 68K → 85K seats
44K sq ft of non-match day facilities (concerts, corporate events, activations)
41K sq ft of new exclusive hospitality zones; 30% more corporate seats
New Sky Deck, Sky Lounge, Members' Club, Fan Zones, and Hall of Fame complex
Designed by Populous (Lord's, MCG); unveiled April 2026

Wankhede’s New Mumbai Stadium (Mumbai Indians)

Mumbai Cricket Association recently announced land acquisition for a new 100K-seat multi-use stadium in Mumbai
Triples Wankhede's 33K-seat capacity which is currently geographically maxed out
Seating constraints have caused ticket prices for the 2026 season to jump 155% YoY – showcasing the sport’s’ insatiable demand in India’s 2nd biggest city

Cricket associations and the Indian government are aligned with the new era of team ownership focused on increasing match-day ticket sales and expand real estate footprint.

Where Will The Next Sponsorship Dollars Come From?

IPL has had a rough stint with sponsorships recently.

They’ve lost three of its highest-spending categories in 2024-25:

Real-money gaming (Dream11, My11Circle) – government restrictions
Ed-tech – sector in decline; BYJU's collapse was the breaking point
Crypto – tightening regulatory environment

The IPL generated $105.3M in total sponsorship revenue in 2025 – a per-team average of $10-15M. Compare that to the NFL's ~$78M per team, and the gap is significant.

Three areas where we see real opportunity:

Leverage the international investor base to land global brands. Some of the biggest sponsorships in IPL history have come from the Gulf – Visit Saudi, Qatar Airways, Gulf Oil. In 2026, Nothing (a London-based consumer tech company) signed on as Title Sponsor for RCB. As more international capital flows into the IPL, more doors open for global brands looking to reach India's market – and the IPL is the most powerful attention vehicle they have.
Stadium naming rights are entirely uncaptured. Naming rights are one of the most lucrative sponsorship categories in sports, but because stadiums are owned by state associations, zero IPL venues carry corporate names today. We may see bespoke licensing agreements between ownership groups and cricket associations to solve this.
Modernize the sponsorship tech stack.The audience is there: IPL reached over a billion viewers last season. The gap is in measurement and monetization infrastructure. Teams should be extracting significantly more value per sponsorship dollar than they currently are. If you're involved in IPL operations or ownership, check out the AI stack we'd deploy to close that gap.

Fix Media Rights Stagnation with Globalization

The Athletic reported that theUEFA Champions League is set to surpass $5B in annual media-rights revenue.

$5B.

That’s the prize that comes with building a truly global sport. Cricket – despite being the second most popular sport in the world – doesn’t have that infrastructure yet. A cricket Champions League tried (Champions League Twenty20, discontinued 2014) and failed.

But there is groundwork being laid, largely funded by IPL ownership:

All 6 SA20 (South Africa) franchises are owned by IPL franchises
8 "The Hundred" (England) franchises sold for a combined ~$1.2B in 2025, with IPL groups like Reliance and Sun Group taking major stakes
4 of 6 Major League Cricket (USA) teams are IPL-backed
Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders each own a franchise in the CPL (Caribbean)

With cricket returning to the Olympics at LA28 – for the first time since 1900 – there's a real opportunity to globalize cricket fandom on the world's biggest stage. As these leagues grow and competition rises, the case for a global cup format strengthens.

That could be the biggest unlock for an entirely new tier of media rights value.

20 Years Is a Long Time

The IPL debuted on April 18th, 2008, nearly 20 years ago. Cricket felt like a dying sport globally, kept alive almost entirely by India.

Today, the IPL is one of the most valuable sports leagues in the world, drawing some of the largest institutional investors in the U.S.

A lot can happen in 20 years. For the investors buying in now, the time horizon is long – and the upside case is real: a globalized sport with a cricket Champions League, world-class stadium districts across India, and a league valued at $100B at the center of it.

We'll just have to wait and see.

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LEAGUES & TEAMS

Photo: IPL’s Rajasthan Royals sells at a $1.65B valuation.

75% Rajasthan Royals stake sold to billionaire Lakshmi Mittal family-led group at $1.65B valuation (May 5th)

Mittal family to acquire 75% of the Royals, with Adar Poonawalla taking 18%; deal also includes SA20’s Paarl Royals and CPL’s Barbados Royals [SportsPro]

Top ATP and WTA stars threaten Grand Slam boycott amid escalating fight over rev share and player compensation (May 5th)

Aryna Sabalenka (No. 1), Coco Gauff (No. 4) back potential boycott after players criticized the French Open’s prize pool
Players push for a larger cut of Grand Slam economics (targeting 22% by 2030), alongside greater representation, pensions, and health benefits [FOS]

Continue Reading →

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STARTUPS & VENTURE CAPITAL

Photo: Kalshi raises $1B Series F at a $22B valuation.

Kalshi raises $1B in Series F funding at a $22B valuation (May 7th)

Kalshi to use funds to scale across hedge funds, asset managers, proprietary trading firms, and insurance companies alongside an expanded product suite with block trading capabilities, risk products, and deeper broker integrations
Investmentled by Coatue; other investors include Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, IVP, Paradigm, Morgan Stanley, and ARK Invest [Kalshi]

Bathhouse, a sauna+cold plunge contrast experience center, raises $35M in funding (May 5th)

Funds will support its LA-based 85K sq ft location, with targeted Chicago, Nashville, and additional NY locations planned
Investment backed by Imaginary Ventures, among others [BeautyIndependent]

Continue Reading →

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M&A AND INVESTMENTS

Photo: Pickleball Inc. hits a $750M valuation following ASC & Dundon investment.

Apollo Sports Capital and Dundon Capital Partners invest $225M into MLP & PPA Tour parentco Pickleball Inc, at a $750M valuation (May 1st)

Fuels Pickleball Inc’s integrated ecosystem spanning pro leagues, equipment commerce, tournament software, court infrastructure, media, and events
Investment includes rolling up assets Pickleball Central, PickleballTournaments.com, and Just Courts under the Pickleball Inc. umbrella[CNBC]

William Blair enters agreement to acquire sports-focused boutique investment bank Inner Circle Sports (May 5th)

Inner Circle advises across team & league transactions, capital raises, valuations, and debt financing; mandates involving assets like Liverpool FC and the 76ers
Winston & Strawn tapped as legal advisor to William Blair; Solomon Partners tapped as financial advisor, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher as legal advisor to Inner Circle Sports [William Blair]

Continue Reading →

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STRATEGIC VENTURES

Photo: Gatorade partners with Venus Williams to launch a women’s focused sports research hub ‘Body of Science’.

[Prediction Markets] Federal court sides with Kalshi/CFTC against Arizona, Kalshi launches Inner Circle + new customer protection stack, DraftKings doubles down on microbets for prediction markets (May 4th-5th)

Judge permanently blocks AG Kris Mayes’ 20 criminal misdemeanor charges against Kalshi
Kalshi’s additions include social feature ‘Inner Circle’ allowing users to view trading activity; ‘Health Check', sets deposit limits recommendations for unhealthy trading
DK’s Paul Liberman says sports event contracts will become faster, more dynamic; move follows DK’s entry microbet entry via ~$200M Simplebet acquisition [AZMirror] [SBCAmericas] [Kalshi]

Gatorade partners with Venus Williams to launch ‘Body of Science’, a women’s sports health and hydration research initiative (May 4th)

Gatorade Sports Science Institute will study women’s hydration and nutrition needs across life stages including menstruation, pregnancy, and perimenopause
A’ja Wilson and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone among the elite athletes joining the initiative’s launch film [Athletech]

Continue Reading →

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