IPL: RCB, Royals’ takeover makes heads turn; how do they stack up globally?

IPL 2026 may be barely three days away, but the talking point is suddenly mega takeovers of two of its franchises — Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) men's and women’s teams and Rajasthan Royals. The successful bid for RCB was a staggering $1.78 billion while the offer for Royals was not much behind at $1.63 billion.

A consortium comprising Aditya Birla Group, media moguls Times of India Group, Bolt Ventures and BXPE will now be the new owners of RCB, while another consortium led by US-based entrepreneur Kal Somani will take over former champions Royals from June. While the valuation is yet to catch up with the super elite brand space occupied by European football assets, the NBA or NFL, it is beyond doubt that the IPL has created a daylight’s difference between it and the other major T20 leagues.

The exponential rise in brand value of the franchises can be gauged from the fact that each of them have fetched more than the combined value of Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans — about $1.69 billion (Rs 12,715 crore) only five years ago during the auction for the two new teams.

Here’s a look at how some of the top Premiership giants stack up against the IPL franchises — Forbes’ 2025 valuations put the average value of the world’s top 30 football clubs at $2.4 billion. Chelsea was valued at $3.25 billion, Arsenal at $3.4 billion and Tottenham at $3.3 billion.

The Forbes list, incidentally, pegs an average value of an MLB (major league baseball) team at $2.6 billion, an NBA team at $5.4 billion and an NFL team at $7.1 billion. While the IPL still has some catching up to do there, it is a cut above average franchise cricket by a long, long chalk.

A recent example is the Pakistan Super League’s latest expansion cycle, when the new Hyderabad and Sialkot franchises were sold for PKR 1.75 billion and PKR 1.85 billion, respectively. Lahore Qalandars, meanwhile, were assessed at a market value of PKR 870 million when their ownership rights were extended.

Commenting on the two acquisitions, IPL chairman Arun Dhumal said over phone: ‘’It underlines IPL’s growing stature in the global sports asset market and how everyone wants to be a part of it.’’

Speaking to National Herald, Dhumal said: ‘’An interesting aspect of the bidding war for these two teams is that it is attracting owners of other global sports properties like football or American sports. This should have a rub-off effect on IPL as we can find out more about the best practice in other leading franchise leagues."

Dhumal, a former BCCI treasurer, has been instrumental in bringing about a number of significant changes in the IPL such as the Impact Player rule, a cap on overseas player fees and punitive measures for any foreign recruit pulling out without a credible reason like injury.

Asked whether the IPL governing body could mull something like releasing a IPO (an idea floated in the IPL's early years with Chennai Super Kings reviving it in recent times), Dhumal shot it down. ‘’There are no plans as such as there is now a robust revenue model in place for the franchises — which also explains why there are so many interested takers whenever a team is going up for sale,’’ he said.

Incidentally, Gujarat Titans had already pointed in this direction last year when the sale of a 67 per cent stake implied a valuation of about $900 million.