Former Indian Cricketer Abhinav Mukund came out with a big claim that the amount of money IPL is making is much less than what the Indian players are being paid. This statement came out just before the start of the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League.
IPL is one of the biggest and richest leagues in the world. With players getting purchased at the 10-18 crore bracket, which is eventually increasing year by year due to the growth of the league. However, former Indian cricketer Abhinav Mukund said that the players are being paid less than the money the league is making.
Is this fact really true about IPL?
The first season of the Indian Premier League was inaugurated after a successful Indian win in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2007. After the demand for something like the T20 World Cup, the IPL was launched, where people can watch fast sports in the country, with a hint of glamour and entertainment around the field.
“I feel Indian Premier League players are grossly underpaid. Listen, hear me out. Because the valuation of the league is so high. And if you look at other leagues around the world, the economics of it, you take baseball, you take F1, you can take any of these guys. In comparison to that, 20 crores or 25 crores is actually not that much.
“If you look at it in that way. If you are saying IPL is one of the top 4-5 leagues in the world, your players should also be paid like the top 4-5. It’s not even in the top 10 or top 20. And if a player is in the top 10, that is because of all the other endorsements. Not because of the IPL salary. So the salary should not be capped. I feel that IPL players could be paid more,” Mukund said, speaking on The Great Indian Cricket Show on Doordarshan.
No doubt the plan has worked well, with growing interest from both national and international players leading to an increase in the number of franchises. However, former Indian cricketer Abhinav Mukund believes that IPL players are grossly underpaid, as the usual top salaries of ₹20–25 crore are not proportionate to the massive earnings of the franchises.
No doubt the plan has worked well, with growing interest from both national and international players leading to an increase in the number of franchises. However, former Indian cricketer Abhinav Mukund believes that IPL players are grossly underpaid, as the usual top salaries of ₹20–25 crore are not proportionate to the massive earnings of the franchises.
IPL gets around 400-500 crores a year
Going further, he said, “An IPL team gets about 400 to 500 crores a year is what I have read, in the reports. I think at least about 100 to 120 crore that they are spending, there should be a little more, maybe double of that as the salary cap. Maybe 200-250 crores.”
Comparison chart between IPL and other leagues in the world
If we compare the Indian Premier League with other big leagues around the world, it’s already clear that IPL gets just about 8.5% of the league’s revenue, as per reported estimates. In comparison, the salary pool of the English Premier League is about 63% of the league’s revenue.
| League | Total salaries | Total Annual Income | Salaries as of % revenue |
| EPL | 0.5 Billion | 0.80 Billion | 63% |
| IPL | 8.3 Billion | 0.20 Billion | 41% |
| NBA | 5.0 Billion | 11.3 Billion | 44% |
| Formula 1 | 330 Million | 3.6 Billion | 9.1% |
However, it requires a bit of context. EPL players feature in 38 matches, playing almost every week. In comparison, Indian Premier League players get the share for just two months of work, with even the highest earners playing 14-16 matches every season on average.
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