With approximately 2.5 billion fans worldwide, cricket is the second most popular sport in the world, behind only football. A big part of this is the fandom in India, of which the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been the driving force in transforming T20 cricket from a fast-paced arm of the game to the most beloved format of the sport.
Boasting eight different champions since the league’s inception 18 years ago, the 10-team IPL thrives on parity, a unique format system and competition that draws the world’s best players to India for the IPL season. The only missing part of the equation was the behind-the-scenes finances, and now we have the details.
Our colleagues at Sportico have released their first team ratings for the IPL and it shows the overall health of the league. Leading the charge are the Mumbai Indians, representing the country’s largest city. They’re the only team to clear the $2 billion mark, which isn’t surprising — but it’s no surprise how close the competition is behind them when it comes to team value. It is a league that not only survives but also thrives and becomes the litmus test that every cricketing nation strives to follow.
The wait continues until the IPL returns in March 2027, but given how close the competition is, it’s worth taking a look at what the 2026 season has in store.
Back-to-back champions, but plenty of competition
Royal Challengers Bengaluru went back-to-back thanks to Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal’s ever-unmatched batting, but don’t let that make you think that Bengaluru are a team that has blown their opponents out of the gate. They finished the season with a 9-5 overall record, but so did Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad – while Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings finished just behind at 8-6 and 7-6-1 respectively.
This means that half league In the IPL, four teams have split the playoff system with one win or less. What’s more, every team in the league finished with at least four wins in their 14 games, meaning no one has really hit rock bottom.
It still hosts the most glamorous project in sports
The IPL “draft” is more open free agency than the draft, with the strictest terms we know from sports in the United States. Players set to hit the market enter the annual IPL Draft Auction, which allows teams to bid for a player’s services in the open to put their money where they want, with the highest bidder getting a chance to change their team.
In 2026, we saw Kolkata Knight Riders completely overhaul their order by picking up a league-high 13 picks. A slight improvement from the end of 2025 didn’t pay immediate dividends for KKR – but much of the 2026 season was about growing them as a team. That should position them as the team to watch for a $3 million buyout in 2027 as Cameron Green establishes himself as the heart of the order Australia are set to field.
“Mega Auction” is coming
The 2027 IPL Draft Auction in December is the final mini-auction of the cycle. These minor events are where only a few players leave each team or join the league as a whole.
In 2028, the IPL will sign a new media rights deal and to coincide with it, there will be a Mega Auction that happens only every few years. In the Mega Auction, teams can only keep a small portion of their roster, every other player is released into the auction pool. This level of both financial transparency and roster turnover means that IPL players are rarely locked into monstrous contracts, with salaries fluctuating like the league does. A new rights deal is expected to be the second-highest in the world after the NFL, costing the league about $5.4 billion annually. However, there could be an interesting competition between JioHotstar, led by current rights holder Disney/Viacom, and a dark horse like Amazon or even Netflix.
The stage is set for an interesting few years in the IPL
A nut that the IPL has yet to reach is trying to bring its competition into the US mainstream. Cricket would like to position itself as the perfect late spring sport that can start as the NBA and NHL finish and carry over into the baseball season.
Rather, MLB would like to market itself as a summer sport that could capture the gaze when the IPL season ends in India. This symbiotic relationship is already manifesting itself in crossover events between the two sports and could see baseball players switch and play in the IPL or cricketers pick up a circular bat and try to learn another sport. This coupled with the overall parity of the IPL and its upcoming Mega Auction makes the IPL a league to watch in the coming years.
Simply put: Indian Premier League cricket is the number 1 sport in the world that you probably don’t follow.