IPL value drops 20% in 2025: Report

The Indian Premier League has seen a sharp decline in its overall ecosystem valuation this year, slipping 20 per cent to 9.6 billion USD from 12 billion USD in 2024, according to the latest assessment by Brand Finance.

This marks one of the steepest year-on-year dips for a league that has long been considered India’s strongest sporting property.

Brand Finance attributes the fall primarily to two immediate pressures: geopolitical tensions affecting commercial sentiment, and growing uncertainty around the upcoming mega auction.

The combination has made investors, sponsors and franchise stakeholders more cautious as they await clarity on team compositions and long-term revenue stability.

The decline this year builds on a broader downward trend highlighted by earlier reports.

Other valuation analyses had already pointed to a softening in the IPL’s commercial strength due to structural shifts in the market. 

The consolidation of media companies after recent mergers has reduced the level of competition in bidding for broadcast and digital rights, weakening one of the league’s biggest revenue drivers. 

The ban on real-money gaming advertising has also removed a major category of sponsors that previously contributed significantly to both central and franchise earnings.

In October, the D&P IPL Valuation Report 2025 had said that IPL ecosystem value declined for the second year in a row, dropping from Rs 82,300 crore in 2023 to Rs 76,100 crore in 2025.

This 5.9% contraction, totaling a two-year loss of nearly Rs 16,400 crore, highlighted in the report called this sustained downturn "a reset for the league's business model.”

According to the report, the slump stems from two structural shocks.  “The collapse of rivalry in media rights and the exit of the IPL’s most aggressive sponsor category of RMG mark a reset for the league’s business model.”

The consolidation of media rights under JioStar has ended the competitive tension that once fuelled ‘auction fever’. 

Meanwhile, the sweeping ban on Real Money Gaming sponsorship has removed Rs 1500- Rs 2000 crore spend from the ecosystem, leaving a visible void across broadcaster revenues, franchise partnerships, and fan-engagement activations. 

These twin shocks of rivalry in media rights and the exit of the IPL  sponsor category for the league,” the report had said. 

It had highlighted Dream11’s Rs 350 crore exit from the national jersey deal was the most visible sign of the broader retreat.

These disruptions are reshaping how the IPL may need to think about its long-term business model.

The coming seasons will be crucial in determining whether the IPL rebounds or undergoes a structural reset in how it generates and sustains value.