Richest Cricket Leagues: Ranking by Media Rights & Salaries

A packed stadium under lights. Rights executives working phones late into the night. Franchises bidding past the limits of reason for a death bowler who can hold a nerve for six deliveries. The modern cricket economy is fierce, data-driven, and flooded with capital—yet it still runs on the simple electricity of fans who can’t look away. If you’re trying to understand which competitions truly count as the richest cricket leagues, you need more than a list of prize cheques. You need to know where the money comes from, why it flows at different speeds in different countries, and how those flows show up in player salaries, team valuations, and league stability.

This is the current edition of a living ranking of the richest franchise cricket leagues in the world. It’s built on a clear, transparent framework and backed by real numbers where the market provides them, with educated estimates where it doesn’t. It’s not a listicle. It’s a field guide for people who care about the business of T20 and short-format cricket: investors, agents, administrators—and seriously curious fans.

How we define “richest” (and why it matters)

There are many ways to slice “richest.” Some sites conflate popularity, prize money, or the occasional mega-auction headline. That muddies the picture. This ranking starts with the most durable predictor of a league’s revenue power: media rights value. Specifically:

• Primary metric: Media-rights value per match and total cycle value, based on board announcements, broadcaster releases, and credible business reporting.
• Supporting metrics:
  • Player salary caps and top-tier individual salaries (highest paying cricket league, league-specific salary structures).
  • Prize money commitments (winners’ share and total pool).
  • Franchise valuations and sponsorship scale (most valuable cricket league and teams).
  • Distribution and global reach (broadcasting rights cricket leagues).

Media rights per match matter because they flatten out differences in schedule length and remove noise from attendance or one-off sponsorships. Salary caps and top salaries matter because they reveal what leagues actually return to players. Franchise valuation and sponsorship show staying power.

A quick, scannable ranking: richest cricket leagues by media-rights power

• Indian Premier League (IPL) — richest cricket league in the world by a distance; per-match media-rights value that sits with the biggest leagues in global sport.
• Big Bash League (BBL), Australia — powerful as part of Cricket Australia’s domestic bundle; deep market penetration and strong broadcaster partnerships.
• The Hundred, England & Wales — under the ECB’s marquee rights package with Sky and free-to-air exposure; modern format and urban scheduling.
• Pakistan Super League (PSL) — robust domestic and diaspora audience; well-run central model; steady sponsor base.
• SA20, South Africa — fresh, IPL-owned franchises; rising media footprint across Africa and India; strong production and narratives.
• ILT20, UAE — highest paying to many overseas players after IPL; rights and sponsorship anchored by Gulf capital and global distribution.
• Caribbean Premier League (CPL) — eventized, tourism-friendly product with reliable regional support and growing North American reach.
• Major League Cricket (MLC), USA — small media money today but significant private capital and premium gate revenue in a high-value market.
• Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) — big local viewership; conservative central revenues; draft-driven wages.
• Lanka Premier League (LPL) — lean central rights; rising as a talent shop; sponsorship-led growth.

Note: Ordering reflects current rights scale and commercial strength, not fan love or cricketing tradition. Leagues with comparable rights power are positioned by secondary factors like salaries, sponsorship velocity, and global distribution.

A working numbers sheet (indicative, converted to USD and INR)

All conversions approximate at USD 1 ≈ INR 83. Figures are rounded and combine publicly declared rights with informed market estimates where formal breakdowns aren’t published.

League snapshot (indicative values)

IPL

• Media-rights per match: ~$15m (~INR 1,245m)
• Team salary cap: ~USD 12m (INR ~1,000m)
• Top single-season player deals: $2m–$3m+
• Prize money (winner): ~$2.5m
• Key partners: Disney Star, Viacom18, Sky, Willow, others

BBL

• Media-rights per match: ~$0.3m–$0.5m
• Team salary settings: ~USD 2m–3m equivalent across roster; top overseas bracket ~$250k–$350k
• Prize money (winner): modest, low six figures USD
• Key partners: Foxtel, Seven, Kayo

The Hundred

• Media-rights per match: ~$0.6m–$1.0m (share of ECB package)
• Team salary pool (men): ~USD 1.2m–1.5m; top bracket ~$150k–$175k. Women’s structures smaller but rising
• Prize money: modest; centrally funded
• Key partners: Sky, BBC, TNT Sports (selected territories)

PSL

• Media-rights per match: ~$0.6m–$0.8m (domestic + international)
• Team purse: ~USD 1.3m–1.5m
• Top player category: ~$170k–$200k, plus bonuses
• Prize money (winner): ~USD 0.5m
• Key partners: ARY/Geo group domestically; international spread via regionals and streaming

SA20

• Media-rights per match: ~$0.3m–$0.6m (Africa + India + global)
• Team purse: ~USD 2.2m–2.8m
• Top player deals: ~$300k–$500k
• Prize money: ~USD 1m+ pooled
• Key partners: SuperSport, Viacom18, Sky

ILT20

• Media-rights per match: ~$0.4m–$0.7m
• Team purse: ~USD 3m–3.5m
• Top player bracket: ~$450k–$500k, with some marquee add-ons
• Prize money: ~USD 1m pooled
• Key partners: Zee/Geo family, international streamers

CPL

• Media-rights per match: ~$0.1m–$0.2m
• Team purse: ~USD 0.8m–1.0m
• Top player salary: ~$150k–$170k
• Prize money (winner): low to mid six figures USD
• Key partners: ESPN Caribbean, TNT Sports, Willow

MLC

• Media-rights per match: sub-$0.1m initially; gate and local sponsorship carry weight
• Team purse: ~USD 1.5m–2.0m
• Top player salary: ~$175k–$250k
• Prize money: mid six figures USD
• Key partners: Willow, regional partners; robust on-site corporate spend

BPL

• Media-rights per match: ~$0.1m
• Team purse: ~USD 0.9m–1.1m
• Top player salary: ~$80k–$150k
• Prize money (winner): ~USD 0.5m
• Key partners: Gazi TV, Rabbithole, regionals

LPL

• Media-rights per match: ~$0.05m–$0.1m
• Team purse: ~USD 1.0m–1.2m
• Top player salary: ~$120k–$150k
• Prize money (winner): low six figures USD
• Key partners: local broadcasters, regional streams

These figures are directional. Boards rarely carve out exact short-format slices from broader national bundles, and private deals vary among territories. The point is scale—and how it shows up in salaries and sustainability.

League-by-league deep dive

Indian Premier League (IPL): the most valuable cricket league, by a margin that stretches into other sports

The IPL is the richest cricket league in the world. That’s not hype, it’s math. The current media-rights cycle set a per-match value in the mid-eight figures in USD terms—a number usually reserved for the NFL and the biggest slices of English football. The defining detail: digital outbid television. That shift says as much about India’s streaming revolution as it does about cricket’s irresistible share of national attention.

Why the IPL sits alone:

• Per-match media-rights value near $15m puts it shoulder to shoulder with global juggernauts. No other cricket property is close.
• The central revenue pool is immense, flowing from broadcast, digital, title sponsorship, and a web of commercial partners that want in on a month and a half of appointment viewing.
• Team salaries are structured via a hard cap (around INR 1,000m, roughly $12m), but the top end of individual player earnings—now comfortably in the $2m–$3m band for marquee signings—signals what the market would pay without a cap. Multiple players have blown past the $2m myth barrier.
• Prize money, while significant, is almost symbolic compared with central distributions and team-level commercial income. The winner’s cheque often lands around $2.5m, but top franchises make multiples of that via sponsorship, ticketing, and hospitality.

Franchise valuations tell the long story. Major IPL teams are now billion-dollar businesses with multi-club footprints. Several own or control sister franchises across SA20, ILT20, and the Caribbean, building shared scouting, analytics, and marketing. When you see a new league pop up, look for IPL ownership listed across half the teams—it’s not coincidence, it’s a strategy.

On the field, the money manifests as depth: power-hitters down to No. 8, two wrist-spinners held in reserve, a death-overs plan that looks like a chess endgame. The IPL isn’t just the richest T20 league; it’s the most intellectually and financially demanding domestic cricket environment.

Big Bash League (BBL): a media bundle heavyweight, engineered for consistency

The BBL doesn’t chase individual salaries like ILT20 or SA20. Instead, it sits inside Cricket Australia’s domestic media-rights bundle with robust multiyear commitments from Foxtel and Seven, plus Kayo as a streaming supercharger. The BBL’s per-match rights value, when apportioned, stacks near the top tier outside India.

Why the BBL’s model is strong:

• The schedule and length are carefully tuned after experiments—leaner calendar, higher quality, fewer dead rubbers. That directly affects per-match ratings and advertiser appetite.
• The overseas draft gave the league global relevance without blowing up costs. Platinum tiers can earn roughly a mid-six-figure USD number, which is competitive during Australia’s summer window.
• Packed local grounds, family-friendly pricing, and a cultural rhythm—kids in club T-shirts, Christmas-New Year windows—turn the BBL into a seasonal habit.

The money line: while individual top salaries are smaller than ILT20 or SA20, the BBL’s broadcast strength, production quality, and brand durability make it one of the most valuable cricket leagues outside India.

The Hundred: modern packaging, free-to-air reach, and a clean pitch to new fans

The Hundred’s revenue power isn’t a stand-alone number in a press release. It’s embedded in the ECB’s flagship rights package with Sky, rounded out by valuable free-to-air windows on the BBC and a strong streaming footprint. That blend matters. It means big guaranteed money plus national visibility.

Why it earns its place near the top:

• The tournament is short, urban, and engineered for appointment viewing. You can sense the TV logic: back-to-back games, men and women on the same day, signature music, recognizable team identities.
• Salaries are rigidly tiered. In the men’s competition, top brackets sit around $150k–$175k; women’s salaries are materially smaller but have grown fast, with marquee names now commanding figures that draw them over from other leagues. The ECB has consciously pushed parity forward through central investment and marketing.
• Player recruitment in The Hundred skews toward multi-format cricketers who add domestic identity, with a targeted cluster of overseas match-winners. It isn’t designed to outbid global rivals; it’s designed to be watchable and national.

The free-to-air component gives The Hundred cultural weight beyond pure cash. It feeds the pipeline, pulls families into grounds, and offers sponsors the kind of broad demographic reach that streaming struggles to replicate.

Pakistan Super League (PSL): a draft-smart league with loyal viewers and controlled costs

The PSL grew on unit economics and fan fidelity. In rough markets, discipline matters—and the PSL has it. Media-rights value per match sits in the mid six figures USD range when you blend domestic and overseas sales. The league’s draft format keeps a lid on spending while still letting franchises chase stars in the platinum category.

Why the PSL consistently punches above its budget:

• Team purses around $1.3m–$1.5m force hard choices. Backroom rooms have to be sharp—cat-and-mouse over undervalued domestic seamers or legspinners who can bowl in the powerplay becomes decisive.
• A passionate home audience triggers serious mid-season spikes in viewership, especially when Lahore plays Karachi or when Rawalpindi breathes pace into a night match. Diaspora viewership further supports international rights sales.
• The competition’s cricket is rugged and technical. Pitches vary. Seamers matter. You can feel it in player preferences—bowlers who bank wickets here tend to travel well.

On salaries, the PSL remains lean. Top players hover around $170k–$200k with bonuses and local endorsement uplift. It’s not the highest paying cricket league, but it’s one of the most financially coherent.

SA20: high production values, IPL club ownership, rapid brand build

SA20 arrived with a simple proposition: the world loves short-format cricket in South Africa; pair that with all-IPL ownership groups, strong domestic broadcast via SuperSport, and Indian carriage through Viacom18, and you’ve got a product that scales.

Where SA20 scores commercially:

• A team purse near the mid-two-million USD mark comfortably outbids legacy leagues like CPL and PSL for certain talent while keeping structure. Top players pulling $300k–$500k makes SA20 the second tier of pay after ILT20 in many cases.
• Storytelling is slick. Prime-time lighting at the Wanderers, the Cape Town skyline at dusk, Newlands with a southerly breeze and full brass band—it’s unforgettable television, which feeds sponsor value.
• IPL ownership synergy means the scouting data is rich. Teams are ecosystems, not one-off projects. You can see the cross-pollination in how squads manage workloads and plan matchups.

Media-rights per match are harder to isolate since multiple territories contribute value. But taken together, SA20 now sits in the thick of the second tier for commercial strength.

ILT20: Gulf capital, heavy overseas payrolls, broad distribution

The UAE’s ILT20 built its brand on one core promise: pay top dollar, deliver a comfortable window, and assemble a gleaming roster of globetrotting hitters and death bowlers. By player-pay standards, ILT20 is neck-and-neck with SA20 at the top end, and sometimes surpasses it with marquee arrangements.

What ILT20 brings to the money table:

• Team purses around $3m–$3.5m and top brackets pushing $450k–$500k with some marquee add-ons. This is the highest-paying league to many overseas cricketers outside the IPL.
• A comfortable playing environment and logistics make it attractive for short-term contracts—especially for white-ball specialists.
• Rights are anchored by strong regional networks and a diaspora-focused global footprint. While per-match rights may not touch the BBL or The Hundred, the overall sponsorship ecosystem is deep.

ILT20 is transactionally rich. It doesn’t seek mass local attendance at the level of traditional cricket markets; it sells reach and star power, with corporate hospitality and sponsor-driven activation layered in.

Caribbean Premier League (CPL): event tourism, regional loyalty, diaspora vibes

The CPL is carnival cricket with a P&L. It’s part festival, part sporting calendar, and entirely watchable. Central rights are modest—often in the low six figures per match—yet gate receipts, tourism partnerships, and a broad streamer footprint keep the league healthy.

Why the CPL matters commercially:

• Venue identities—Trinidad’s rhythm, Barbados’ postcard settings, Guyana under lights—turn TV into a travel brochure. That draws tourism boards and regional sponsors who stay loyal.
• The player market is deep with West Indies talent. Add a sprinkle of overseas stardom and you get parity. Upsets sell.
• Team purses around $0.8m–$1m and top pay near $150k–$170k keep wages in check while rewarding stars.

It’s not the richest T20 league, but it’s one of the most resilient business stories in cricket.

Major League Cricket (MLC): small rights today, outsized ambition tomorrow

American sport is an attention economy with deep pockets. MLC is the first credible attempt to anchor top-level T20 in the United States. Media-rights money is small today, but local sponsorship, sold-out minor league baseball parks retrofitted for cricket, and serious private investment give it potential.

The business case:

• Team purses around $1.5m–$2m and top salaries around $175k–$250k make it a competitive offer across a short window.
• Ownership groups and anchor investors know American venue economics. Corporate hospitality, premium seating, and local tech sponsors do heavy lifting when TV dollars are still nascent.
• The league’s long-term upside is massive if a major network commits or streaming platforms see growth in the cricket demographic.

Think of MLC as a venture-stage property with big-league ambition. If a rights spike arrives, it will come quickly.

Bangladesh Premier League (BPL): high viewership, cost control, and a draft economy

The BPL’s audience numbers in Bangladesh are enormous. The central rights and sponsorship pool, however, stays conservative. That yields team purses around $1m, top salaries in the $80k–$150k range, and per-match rights near $0.1m. It’s a steady, locally resonant competition with fierce on-field cricket.

What keeps BPL stable:

• The draft format controls spending while allowing tactical plays on domestic depth.
• Strong local broadcasters and digital platforms drive reach and ad revenue.
• Team identities are anchored in city pride; rivalries feel authentic even when overseas churns.

BPL serves a huge market, and while international commercial metrics are modest, its domestic footprint is the backbone of its sustainability.

Lanka Premier League (LPL): compact footprint, scouting value

Sri Lanka’s LPL is the smallest in this ranking by rights scale, but it plays an important role in the global T20 economy: it showcases new talent and keeps white-ball specialists employed across a clean calendar window. Media rights are lean, team purses hover a bit above $1m, and top salaries are in the $120k–$150k corridor.

Why it stays in the conversation:

• Scenic venues and a cricket-savvy audience make for watchable TV, which supports incremental rights growth.
• The league often discovers role-specific players—powerplay hitters, left-arm spinners with heavy drift, quicks with heavy length—that then ladder into richer leagues.

Richest by rights vs highest-paying to players: a clean split

If your only question is which is the richest T20 league in the world, the IPL wins by an order of magnitude. But if you’re an overseas player or agent asking where the highest salaries sit outside the IPL, the stack changes:

Highest-paying to players (outside IPL, roughly)

• ILT20 — top brackets around $450k–$500k, with some marquee sweeteners.
• SA20 — top brackets around $300k–$500k, team purses solidly in the mid-two-millions.
• BBL — platinum overseas payments around the mid-six figures USD; strong stability offsets slightly lower peaks.
• The Hundred — tight salary bands, top men around $150k–$175k; women’s purses rising quickly with elite brackets now genuinely attractive.
• PSL — top category around $170k–$200k, with solid bonuses and endorsements.
• CPL/MLC/BPL/LPL — top salaries generally $150k and below, with role-based premiums.

Crucial context: “Highest paying” isn’t the same as “richest.” ILT20 and SA20 punch above their rights weight in player pay because their capital structures prioritize elite wages to seed credibility and star power quickly.

IPL vs the world: the scale gap

• IPL vs PSL revenue: The IPL’s per-match media-rights value is many multiples of the PSL’s. IPL teams operate with salary caps roughly eight to ten times larger, and central distributions dwarf PSL winners’ prize money. Yet the PSL competes superbly at the tactical end—bowling depth, game management, and fan drama keep it indispensable.
• IPL vs BBL, which is richer: IPL by far on rights and salaries. BBL’s value lies in a stable domestic bundle, production quality, and habit-forming scheduling.
• IPL vs NFL per match: The IPL sits among the highest per-game rights in global sport. It’s one of the few non-US properties even in the conversation.
• IPL vs NBA media rights per game: The IPL compares favorably on a per-match basis when you fold in digital. Different seasons, different audiences, similar scarcity dynamics.

How cricket leagues make money (and where the leverage lives)

• Media rights cycle: The heartbeat. Boards and leagues sell packages—TV, digital, highlights, sometimes territory splits. Per-match value is the cleanest single metric for “richest.”
• Central revenue pool: Rights + title sponsorships + on-ground advertising + league partners. This pool funds prize money and distributions to teams.
• Team-level income: Local sponsors, shirt and sleeve rights, ticketing, hospitality, merch, private events, and in some markets, city or tourism board partnerships.
• Salary cap mechanics: Hard caps (IPL) promote parity and cost control; drafts (PSL, BBL, CPL) anchor wages in defined categories; auction formats create spikes but are bounded by caps.
• International windows: A league’s date on the global calendar determines who it can pay and how much. Competing directly with the IPL is futile; nestling in complementary windows is smart.
• Multi-club ownership: IPL franchises owning SA20/ILT20/CPL teams create data synergies, shared scouting, and sponsor bundles across continents. That consolidates power and reduces risk.

Salaries and prize money: what players actually earn

• IPL: The highest paying cricket league by a street. Multiple players now land $2m–$3m deals, with the median earning rising steadily as caps increase. Domestic stars and elite overseas fast bowlers drive premiums.
• ILT20 and SA20: The next rung. Top contracts in the $300k–$500k zone, reliable payments, and good medical/amenities. Many players treat one of these as their second main payday after the IPL.
• BBL and The Hundred: Slightly lower peaks but high reliability and strong domestic profile. For English and Australian players, endorsements and red-ball retentions can offset lower T20 peaks.
• PSL: Efficient salaries with fierce competition. A good PSL season enhances your price in other drafts and auctions.
• CPL, MLC, BPL, LPL: Solid, role-based earnings with shorter windows. Crucial for specialists and rising talent.

Prize money tends to be a headline-grabber but not the financial core. Winners’ cheques in most leagues range from low six figures to a couple of million USD at the top end. In the IPL, prize money is meaningful but dwarfed by central distributions and franchise commercial income.

Fastest risers and where the momentum sits

• SA20 and ILT20: Player-pay leaders outside the IPL. Rights and distribution are still maturing, but production, star power, and sponsor pull suggest further upside.
• MLC: If a major network and a handful of US cities go all-in on cricket infrastructure, the revenue curve can steepen quickly. For now, gate and local sponsorship are the story.
• The Hundred: Free-to-air windows and strong branding help non-rights revenue. Faster growth in women’s salaries is a differentiator that keeps the ECB narrative positive with partners.
• PSL: Stable economics with room for modest step-ups in rights as economic conditions improve and diaspora streaming strengthens.

Two comparative snapshots that matter

• ILT20 vs SA20 salaries: ILT20’s top bracket typically edges SA20 for pure cash, especially with marquee additions. SA20’s team purse is competitive, and the league’s IPL-club synergy helps certain players unlock multi-league retainers.
• BBL vs The Hundred salaries: BBL has paid higher peaks for overseas in certain drafts; The Hundred trades slightly lower peaks for national visibility and schedule density. For domestic players, national board retainers and cross-format priorities shape true earnings.

What sponsors and broadcasters buy in each league

• IPL: Scale, scarcity, and national obsession. Advertisers pay for a guaranteed spike in reach and attention across TV and digital. Sponsors link their brand to the biggest cultural moment on the Indian sports calendar.
• BBL: Family-friendly frequency across summer. Plenty of impressions, consistent ratings, and a platform that advertisers can plan around.
• The Hundred: Urban, young, diverse. The BBC windows deliver national conversations; Sky delivers premium production and a captive subscriber base.
• PSL: Fierce engagement in a cricket-first market. Sponsors get authenticity and passion.
• SA20 and ILT20: Star density and high-quality television. Brands buy glamour and international crossover.
• CPL: Tourism and diaspora reach. Sunny shots and party stands sell travel and lifestyle.
• MLC: Corporate hospitality and a growing tech-demographic audience. Early adopters, high-income fans, brand-safe stadium experiences.

Franchise valuations: who holds the durable assets

• IPL franchises: Billion-dollar valuations are now the norm for top teams. Multi-club networks, academy pipelines, and international partnerships push value beyond on-field performance.
• BBL clubs:1 Operate within a central model under Cricket Australia—less private-equity sparkle, more stability and national identity.
• The Hundred teams: ECB-owned identities and city brands; talk of private investment surfaces periodically, but the existing model serves the rights package well.
• PSL/SA20/ILT20/CPL/MLC: Varied ownership models. Where IPL owners are involved (SA20, some ILT20), franchise value is buoyed by transnational networks. In CPL and MLC, growth stories are geographically strategic and sponsor-driven.

Risk factors that could change the ranking

• Rights-market deflation or platform consolidation: If a major broadcaster pulls back or a streamer tightens spend, per-match values can stall temporarily.
• Calendar congestion: Leagues fighting for the same window compress player choices and push up prices in some places while lowering quality elsewhere.
• Currency volatility: Rights sold in local currency can swing in USD terms. This affects global rankings even if domestic value is steady.
• Governance shocks: Payment delays, eligibility disputes, or security issues can disrupt sponsor confidence.

FAQ: quick answers to high-intent questions

Which is the richest cricket league in the world?

The Indian Premier League is the richest by a wide margin, measured by media-rights value per match and total cycle value.

Which T20 league pays the highest salaries?

The IPL pays the most by far. Outside the IPL, ILT20 and SA20 generally offer the highest top-end salaries, with BBL and The Hundred providing competitive earnings in more structured bands.

How much is IPL media rights worth per match?

Approximately $15m per match, which places it alongside the biggest per-game properties in global sport.

IPL vs PSL revenue: who’s bigger?

IPL by a large multiple on rights and central distributions. PSL remains one of the best-run leagues on a per-dollar basis.

IPL vs BBL: which is richer?

IPL dominates globally. BBL is robust regionally as part of Australia’s domestic rights bundle and remains one of the most valuable cricket leagues outside India.

Which cricket league has the highest prize money?

IPL delivers the largest winners’ cheque, though team distributions and sponsorships matter more than prize money in total earnings.

What is the salary cap across major leagues?

• IPL: around INR 1,000m (~$12m) per team.
• SA20: roughly $2.2m–$2.8m per team.
• ILT20: roughly $3m–$3.5m per team.
• PSL: roughly $1.3m–$1.5m per team.
• BBL/The Hundred: structured salary pools near $2m–$3m (BBL) and about $1.2m–$1.5m for The Hundred men; women’s pools smaller but rising.

Which T20 league offers the most to overseas players outside the IPL?

ILT20 typically leads, with SA20 close behind. BBL and The Hundred remain attractive for schedule, visibility, and reliability.

How do cricket leagues make money?

Mostly through media rights, supplemented by sponsorship, ticketing, hospitality, and central partners. The balance varies by market.

Which are the most valuable IPL teams?

Leading IPL teams carry valuations in the billions of dollars, driven by media rights, massive fan bases, and multi-club strategies.

Is the IPL richer than the EPL?

On a per-match media-rights basis, the IPL sits in the same conversation as top European football properties and the NFL. Methodologies differ, but the IPL’s per-match value is elite in global sport.

Expert insights and patterns to watch

• Per-match scarcity is king. Leagues that trim fat and stage fewer, better matches often command more per-game money. BBL’s recalibration is a case study; The Hundred’s tight, city-focused runs are another.
• Digital-first strategies change bidding wars. The IPL’s transformational shift came when a digital bidder outgunned traditional TV, creating two top-tier buyers instead of one. Expect more hybrid packages globally: a top-tier streaming platform plus a prestige free-to-air partner.
• IPL-owned networks will professionalize second-tier leagues. When Mumbai Indians or Chennai Super Kings extend their operating DNA into SA20 or ILT20, you don’t just get a logo; you get shared scouting, workload planning, analytics, and sponsor bundling. That stability attracts rights buyers and pushes those leagues up the value chain.
• Women’s cricket as a commercial engine. The Hundred’s paired matchdays and ECB investment have nudged women’s salaries upwards quickly. Markets that harness this momentum—by staging double-headers, improving broadcast windows, and building superstar profiles—will unlock new sponsorship segments.

A closer comparative window

IPL vs PSL money

• Rights: IPL per match around $15m vs PSL in the six-figure range—an order-of-magnitude difference.
• Salaries: IPL top deals in the multi-million range; PSL top bracket roughly $170k–$200k.
• Prize money: IPL winners near $2.5m; PSL near $0.5m.
• Reality check: PSL wins on cost efficiency and tactical identity; IPL wins on scale, depth, and global resonance.

ILT20 vs SA20 salaries

• ILT20 generally offers higher guaranteed peaks in the $450k–$500k zone, with some marquee add-ons.
• SA20’s top salaries hover around $300k–$500k, with strong team purses and better cricketing narratives for some players seeking long-term value.

BBL vs The Hundred salaries

• BBL’s overseas draft has produced higher individual peaks at times, complemented by reliability and the Australian summer schedule.
• The Hundred’s salary bands are tighter; visibility and free-to-air exposure increase off-field opportunities for domestic stars.

CPL vs BPL: which pays more

• CPL’s top bracket sits around $150k–$170k and team purses near $1m, with tourism partnerships adding indirect value.
• BPL’s top bracket usually ranges $80k–$150k, with similar team purses but a more conservative central pool.

Cricket league revenue ranking: reading beyond the numbers

When you rank richest franchise cricket leagues by media-rights muscle, the hierarchy is clear:

• IPL
• A tight second tier of BBL and The Hundred, backed by national bundles and free-to-air visibility
• PSL, SA20, ILT20 clustered with different strengths: PSL’s stability, SA20’s IPL owner synergies, ILT20’s top-end wages
• CPL and MLC as strategic regional plays with upside
• BPL and LPL as cost-controlled, locally resonant competitions

But raw rankings miss an important nuance. Leagues succeed when their money aligns with identity. The IPL is a scarcity event and the nation’s Super Bowl every night. The BBL is a family summer fixture. The Hundred is a modern entertainment brand with a dual-gender spine. PSL is a draft economy with hostile bowling spells and feverish viewership. SA20 and ILT20 package stars and storytelling differently: one leans into domestic identity and IPL ecosystems; the other leans into headline payroll.

What to watch next

• Rights rebundling: Expect more leagues to split packages—TV vs digital, weekday vs weekend, regional language carve-outs. This is how they find new money without adding more matches.
• Private investment in team brands: England’s short-format properties are flirting with private capital. Any structural shift here would reshape The Hundred’s revenue model and team economics.
• US media thaw: If MLC converts strong gate and sponsorship into a meaningful rights deal, the league’s place in this ranking could change rapidly.
• Player workload economics: Caps will creep up as player salaries chase the next marginal advantage. Smart leagues will add medical depth and recovery tech as a selling point, not just cash.

Key takeaways

• Richest cricket leagues is best understood through media-rights value per match. IPL is the benchmark, by far.
• Highest paying league to many overseas pros after the IPL: ILT20 and SA20. BBL and The Hundred remain high-quality earners with stability.
• PSL is the efficiency king: strong cricket, smart costs, loyal audience.
• CPL, MLC, BPL, LPL occupy essential roles in the global calendar, feeding talent and serving regional markets while building sustainable economics.
• Growth will come from smarter rights packaging, better windows, and cross-league franchise networks that reduce risk and create repeatable excellence.

Conclusion: money follows meaning

A league can buy star power, but it can’t buy resonance. The IPL’s wealth is built on cultural scale, not just a bidding war. The BBL’s steadiness comes from knowing who it serves. The Hundred learned that modern packaging and free-to-air access can rewire an audience. The PSL proved that discipline pays. SA20 showed how quickly a league can climb when it combines story, owners, and distribution. ILT20 proved that player-first pay can build credibility fast. CPL and MLC are the frontier experiments: tourism and diaspora in one, pure market potential in the other.

The richest T20 leagues in the world aren’t just balance sheets; they’re living ecosystems. They grow when media rights reward scarcity and storytelling, when salaries respect the athletes, and when administrators remember that every roaring crowd is also a business model. In that sense, the money tells a simple truth: in cricket, the night economy is booming, and the best leagues are those that make you cancel plans and reach for the remote the moment the first ball is about to be bowled.