Top Sports Leagues that have Profited the Most

The sports industry, comprising of various sports leagues, has boomed over the past several decades. Being a primary source of entertainment for many, it has ensured that it is a money-making machine for sports executives. From ticket sales, merchandise, sponsorship, and many other sources, it is certainly a very profitable industry.

If we were to tally up the net worth of the entire sports industry around the world, it would result in an amount of about $600 billion. Listed here are some of the most profitable sports leagues from around the world.

1. National Football League (NFL): Being the most profitable league in the world, the NFL boasts an annual revenue of about $15 billion. This league gets its maximum viewership from the US and Canada. But when you talk of its global presence, the NFL lags behind the other European Football Leagues which have successfully been able to establish its presence outside its borders.
2. Major League Baseball (MLB): This baseball league has its major viewership from North America. Just like the NFL, MLB also lacks a global presence. The annual revenue is more than $10 billion. The major source of revenue is its ticket sales which amount to millions of dollars.
3. National Basketball Association (NBA): The National Basketball Association (NBA) enjoys great popularity around the world with its major market being North America. Some estimates say that it followed by 800 to 900 million fans worldwide. The annual revenue of this league is more than $8 billion. Some of the teams in the NBA have an estimated average worth of about $1.67 billion.
4. Indian Premier League (IPL): Cricket is a sport that doesn’t have a massive global following as compared to the likes of football or basketball. The Indian Premier League, even though being a short duration league, is able to generate annual revenue of more than $7 billion. The major source of revenue is ticket sales and TV viewership. This league gets its maximum viewership from India and some of the other cricket playing nations.
5. English Premier League (EPL): With a massive global following, the English Premier League (EPL) is indisputably the most popular football league in the world. This league is widely followed across all continents. The EPL generates annual revenue of about $5.3 billion. The major source of its revenue is TV viewership and sponsorship.

The US has 4 of the top 10 sports leagues in the world. Football leagues account for 5 of the 10 top leagues in the world. The IPL is the only cricketing league and the only league from India to be present in this list.