The Indian Premier League is now worth an estimated $20.6 billion, according to a new valuation by investment bank Houlihan Lokey — a figure that puts the cricket tournament's business value ahead of every sports league on the planet except the NFL on a per-match basis. The Guardian Houlihan Lokey

The IPL — a franchise-based Twenty20 cricket competition launched in India in 2008 — has grown into one of the most lucrative properties in world sport. Its enterprise value, which captures the total business worth of the league, rose 11.4% over the past year from $18.5 billion in 2025. The league's stand-alone brand value (the premium attached to the IPL name itself, separate from the individual teams) climbed 10.3% to $4.3 billion. Houlihan Lokey Reuters

Driving the surge: a wave of franchise sales that shattered previous price records. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, now the league's most valuable single franchise at a brand value of $312 million, was recently acquired by a consortium including the global investment firm Blackstone in a deal worth nearly $1.8 billion — the most expensive franchise transaction in IPL history. The Guardian

Rajasthan Royals changed hands in a separate deal valued at $1.65 billion, with steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and his family joining vaccine manufacturer Adar Poonawalla in taking control of the franchise. The Guardian

What makes those numbers striking is the company keeping them. On a per-match basis, Houlihan Lokey's report places the IPL second only to the NFL globally — meaning each IPL game generates more commercial value than fixtures in the English Premier League, the NBA, or Major League Baseball when measured that way. The Guardian

For cricket fans, the valuation is a signal of how far the sport has travelled from its roots. What began as a domestic Indian tournament played over six weeks each spring now attracts the same class of institutional investors — private equity firms, global asset managers — that have long circled American football and European football. Harsh Talikoti of Houlihan Lokey put it plainly: cricket has "evolved into a globally owned, institutionally backed asset class," with the IPL "continuing to redefine the global sports landscape." The Guardian

The IPL's next season will likely be watched as much on balance sheets as on scorecards.