Top Sports Leagues In The World

Whether cricket or football, sports have continued to entertain every generation. Over the years, the sport has become an industry generating billions of dollars in revenue each year. The global sports market has experienced rapid expansion, growing from $486.61 billion in 2021 to an estimated $512.14 billion in 2023, and is projected to exceed $700 billion by 2026.

Lodging at the forefront of innovation and adaptation, sports leagues are a significant part of the global market, with showbiz glamor and attract fans widely.

Here's the list of the 10 Biggest Sports Leagues in the world.

National Football League

Formed in 1920, the National Football League, or NFL, being the most valuable and expensive sports league, tops the chart with a total revenue of $18 billion in 2024, with the Dallas Cowboys having the highest value of $10.32 billion. Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers was set to take $59.465 million in 2023, but he restructured his contract and now will make $75 million for two years.

With the NFL's 32 franchises receiving the lion's share of the revenue, the league also houses 29 of the world's 50 most expensive stadiums. The NFL is known for its intense competition and high-stakes games. It is the highest level of professional American football, making it one of the most-watched sporting events in the world, and is one of the top sports leagues in the world.

Most of its revenue comes through broadcasting rights, sponsorship, and ticket sales, and the league's long-term contracts with telecom companies like ESPN, Fox, NBC, and others, which fetch billions of dollars annually. The NFL has also partnered with several MNCs as PepsiCo, Nike, and Visa, to name a few. During the 2020 COVID-affected season, the league experienced pandemic-related shortfalls that decreased revenue, causing the NFL to reduce the salary cap. But after two great seasons, the NFL is back on track with an ambition to reach $25 billion in revenue by 2027.

Indian Premier League

The Indian Premier League, better known as IPL, is second to the NFL as the second richest sports league and one of the most valuable sports leagues, after hitting the $9 billion mark. With Mumbai Indians (MI) as the most valuable IPL team with a brand worth $86.4 million, IPL is also second in cutting big fat cheques, with players earning an average of $5.3 million annually. It is second in the top 5 richest league in the world.

The Indian T20 league, which commenced in 2008 as India’s first unicorn with a $1.1 billion valuation, has seen a 16-fold jump since its inception. Played each year during the Indian summer with ten teams in a 70-match tournament, followed by playoffs and the IPL Trophy for the past 15 seasons, the second-most lucrative league in world sports is now rubbing shoulders with the NFL, NBA, EPL, etc.

With uncontrollable popularity, the IPL has brought lucrative media and sponsorship deals, thus emerging as a premier sporting event with global viewership and popularity. IPL has partnerships with several major companies like VIVO, Paytm, TATA, and Dream11, to name a few. And this year, at $6.2 billion for the 2023–2027 cycle, IPL recorded a three-fold jump in media deals, breaking Walt Disney Star's monotony, which had continued for the previous 5-year cycle in 2017. This media rights deal made IPL the second biggest sporting event after the NFL on a per-match basis.

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Major League Baseball

The third richest league by revenue we have is America's Major League Baseball, or MLB, with $11.5 billion in revenue in 2024, with the Los Angeles Dodgers earning the most remuneration of $5 million, and is one of the top 5 richest league in the world.

With an average player salary of $4.9 million, the salary cap jumped 11.1% to record the largest since 2001. In the history of MLB, Aaron Judge became the highest-paid position player with a $360 million nine-year contract with the New York Yankees. With 1992 as the starting point, the baseball league houses 30 teams that play 162 games each year, followed by playoffs and the World Series, attracting millions of viewers. It is one of the most profitable sports leagues.

After being adversely impacted by the pandemic, America's baseball league rebounded and hit a home run in 2022, propelling itself to record a spike in revenue and becoming one of the top ten leagues in the world. The MLB generates most of its revenue through broadcasting rights, sponsorships, and ticket sales, and has a long-standing deal with television networks that brings in billions of dollars each year. The league is in partnership with several major companies– Chevrolet, Mastercard, and Nike, to name a few.

National Basketball Association

With just over $10 billion as its revenue in 2024, the NBA, or National Basketball Association comes fourth in the top 5 sports leagues in the world. North America's NBA is the world's most prestigious and affluent basketball league, with the average team worth around $3 billion and the Golden State Warriors being the most valuable, worth $7.56 billion. It is in the list of top 5 richest league in the world.

After being adversely affected by the pandemic for two consecutive years and posting $6.4 billion in revenue for the COVID-impacted 2020/21 season, the NBA jumped to record a $10 billion revenue last year. This implies that the NBA's annual income has nearly tripled over the past decade, going from $3.7 billion in 2012 to $10 billion in 2024.

In addition to the world’s wealthiest players playing in this league, it has secured national television broadcasting contracts worth $500 million in international media revenue. But the main driver of this increase is the NBA’s jersey deal with Nike and their jersey patch program with individual teams, which reportedly fetched above $200 million in revenue last year alone.

English Premier League

The English Premier League is the fifth richest and biggest sports league, which generates an annual income of nearly £6 billion in 2024. With the average Premier League club worth $1.51 billion, the collective value of the league's 20 clubs comes to a whopping $30.3 billion. It is one of the most valuable leagues in the world.

Excluding the COVID-impacted 2020/21 season, the revenue generation of EPL teams has increased significantly, mainly due to the successful acquisition of high-profile players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku by Manchester United. Television broadcasting licenses, business operations, and sponsorship deals have leveraged EPL's revenue, and this increase in media attention, global fan engagement, and lucrative sponsorship deals has boosted the financial prospects of EPL clubs. For the first time in 30 years, EPL witnessed more revenue generated from overseas broadcasters than domestic stations. With £5.1 billion generated for domestic rights after the pandemic, the league signed agreements to roll over the existing deals with Sky, BT Sport, and Amazon Prime Video through 2025.

National Hockey League

North America's National Hockey League, or NHL is the sixth richest sports league — one of the top sports leagues in the world, with an estimated value of $5.5 billion, with the New York Rangers being the most valuable team, worth $2.2 billion.

The ice hockey league is home to 32 teams that play an 82-game season each year, followed by playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals. NHL generates most of its revenue through broadcasting rights, sponsorships, ticket sales, and lucrative deals with television networks that bring in billions of dollars each season. With the new ESPN TV contract and the addition of the Seattle Kraken, the NHL is projected to cross the $5 billion mark. It has also partnered with MNCs like Adidas, Coca-Cola, and Discover, to name a few.

La Liga Santander

Spain's La Liga Santander is one of the most popular and one of the most valuable sports leagues in the world, with an estimated value of €4.5 billion in 2024. It houses Real Madrid, the richest football club in the world in 2024, with a net worth of $6.6 billion.

The La Liga Santander, one of the biggest leagues in the world, is home to 20 teams that play a 38-game season each year, attracting millions of viewers annually. Comprising some of the top European clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, Villarreal, etc., the football league generates most of its revenue through broadcasting rights, sponsorships, and ticket sales.

With lucrative deals with television networks, the league has also partnered with several major companies, such as Santander, Nike, and Coca-Cola, to name a few. According to estimates, the La Liga club sponsorship revenue is $930.95 million.

Bundesliga

Home to 18 teams that play a 34-game each year, Germany’s Bundesliga generates about €4.3 billion to rank eighth richest sports league in the list of top 10 sports leagues in the world and is one of the top sports leagues in the world, with FC Bayern Munich having a value of about €3.8 billion in 2023. The German football league that draws large crowds to its stadiums— on an average of 42,738 tickets sold per game– has reported a 5.4% increase in combined revenues for the country’s professional teams.

Generating most of its revenue through broadcasting rights, sponsorships, and ticket sales, the league has a lucrative deal with television networks. Earning €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) yearly from national television rights, the Bundesliga, one of the biggest leagues in the world, has partnered with several major companies such as Adidas, Coca-Cola, and Puma.

Serie A

Italy's top-tier football league Serie A is the ninth wealthiest sports league generating a revenue of €2.8 billion and is at the bottom of the list. With its rich and storied history, Serie A's AC Milan franchise has the highest market value of €1 billion in 2023.

Home to 20 teams that play 38 games, Serie A is known for its strategic play style over high-speed thrills. The Italian football league is gearing up to increase the revenue flow. It currently holds a domestic deal with sports streaming service DAZN for €2.5 billion (US$2.7 billion) that will run till 2024 along with Pay-TV broadcaster Sky Italia Serie A has reported a €262.5 million (US$280.9 million) deal over three years.

UEFA Champions League

Sitting at the bottommost, we have the UEFA Champions League as the tenth richest sports league with an estimated revenue of €3.5 billion, with Manchester City squad having the highest value squad worth €4.1 billion in 2024.

Featuring the top club teams from across Europe— the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, and the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League is one of the top 10 leagues in the world. For the 2021-22 season, UEFA, one of the top sports leagues in the world, suffered a drop in revenue of almost €2 billion after setting a record mark in the previous year— notably boosted by the delayed European Championship.

Despite the downfall, UEFA still recorded its second-best financial year since 2016-17, with most of the media revenue coming from UEFA's four-year deal with global streaming service DAZN signing in June 2021. The hike figures come after UEFA adopted a new competition structure for the UWCL that included a group stage and a centralized commercial and broadcast rights model for the 2021-22 to 2024-25 cycle.

FAQs

Which are the top 10 richest leagues currently in the world?

Here's the list of the 10 richest Sports Leagues in the world:

• National Football League
• Indian Premier League
• Major League Baseball
• National Basketball Association
• English Premier League
• National Hockey League
• LaLiga Santander
• Bundesliga
• Serie A
• UEFA Champions League

What is the revenue of the Indian Premier League?

The revenue of the Indian Premier League as of 2023 is $9.5 billion.

Which sports league makes the most money?

The National Football League or NFL makes the most money with a total revenue of $13 billion in 2023, with the Dallas Cowboys having the highest value of $10.32 billion.

Which are the top 5 richest leagues in the world?

The top 5 richest leagues in the world are as below:

• National Football League (NFL)
• Indian Premier League (IPL)
• Major League Baseball (MLB)
• National Basketball Association (NBA)
• English Premier League