The great cricket event IPL 2025 has started from 22 March. This tournament is not just a game but also a big business platform. IPL teams earn crores in a season, but they also incur losses if the team loses a match. 

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is not just a cricket tournament, but it is a big platform for sports, entertainment and business. These days cricket lovers are crazy about IPL. Players are showing their talent on the field and fans are reaching the stadium to support their favorite teams. But have you ever wondered how the franchise owners of IPL teams earn money and how much loss they suffer if their team loses a match?

Actually, the business model of IPL is very different, where big companies buy team franchises by spending crores of rupees. Then they buy players by paying millions of rupees in the auction. According to the Startuptalky website, the commercial value of IPL 2024 was $16.4 billion, while its brand value was estimated at $3.4 billion. At the same time, according to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), IPL 2023 contributed $11.2 billion to the Indian economy and IPL 2024 was watched by more than 620 million viewers, which was a total viewership of 350 billion minutes. These figures show that IPL is not just a sport but a great combination of glamour, showbiz and business.

How does a franchisee earn money?

IPL teams get a 40-50% share from BCCI's Contract Revenue Pool. This amount is estimated to be Rs 48,000 crore for 2024-27, which will give huge profits to all the franchises. The winning team in this league gets the largest share from BCCI's profits. Elara Capital estimates that the average revenue of all IPL teams could increase twofold in the next five years.

Sources of income of IPL teams

IPL is not just a tournament but it is also a multi-billion dollar industry. Every team has different sources of income.

Media Rights

IPL media rights are sold for crores. BCCI distributes a large part of this income among all the teams. Usually, franchises get 40-50% of the total revenue, which strengthens their financial position.

Sponsorships

Sponsorships are the biggest source of income for IPL teams. Many big companies pay huge amounts for putting their logo on the team's jersey, in-match advertisements and social media promotion. Apart from this, some brands also become title sponsors, for example - initially DLF was the title sponsor of IPL.

Ticket Sale

Ticket sales are also a major source of income for teams. Dynamic ticket pricing is used in matches held in large stadiums, which gives teams more profits. Ticket prices can range from hundreds of rupees to lakhs of rupees for premium seats. IPL teams get about 80% of their revenue from ticket sales.

Merchandise Sales

The sale of IPL team jerseys, caps, T-shirts and other products is also a good source of income. Fans express their support by buying gear of their favourite team, which gives extra revenue to the teams.

Prize Money

The IPL winning team gets a trophy and a huge prize money. Although this money is smaller than other sources, it still contributes to the total income of the teams.

Loss to the owners by losing one match of IPL

From forming an IPL team to buying players, branding and organizing matches, everything involves a lot of expenditure. In such a situation, if a team loses a match, it directly affects its brand and its sponsors.

Impact on the brand value of the team

It is important to win every match in IPL, as it strengthens the brand image of the team. If a team loses continuously, its popularity may decrease. Sponsors and brand ambassadors usually prefer to work with teams that are performing well. Defeat has a direct impact on sponsorship deals and brand promotions, due to which team owners may suffer losses worth crores of rupees.

Decline in sponsorship

Sponsorship is the biggest source of income for IPL teams. If a team is losing continuously, the sponsors may decide to end their partnership or reduce the amount. For example, if a team loses 6-7 matches out of 10-12 matches, then the sponsorship money it receives may be reduced drastically. This can translate into a loss of crores of rupees.

Decrease in ticket sales

The winning teams in IPL bring more fans to the stadium. If a team loses continuously, the number of its fans may decrease. Due to which there is a direct impact on ticket sales. Due to defeat, fewer spectators come to the stadium, due to which the team owners may suffer a loss of up to Rs 5-10 lakh in every match.

Decrease in Prize Money

The prize money of IPL is in crores of rupees, which is given to the winner and runner-up teams. If a team becomes the IPL winner, it can get a prize money of up to Rs 10-20 crores. If the team loses continuously and is unable to make it to the playoffs, it may be deprived of this prize money.

FAQs

Q- How many total matches are played in IPL 2025?

A total of 74 matches will be played in IPL 2025 and the tournament will last for 65 days. This season will include 12 double-header matches, that is, there will be some days when two matches will be played on the same day. All the matches will be held in 13 different cities of India.

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