The sports industry is one of the most profitable industries known across the world, it is estimated to be worth over $620 million. This shows that professional games and matches are a lucrative business in the modern world as there is a lot of money being generated from events, ticket sales, stadium rentals, transfer, merchandise, gambling, sponsorships, and broadcasting deals.
Having pocketed an incredible amount of money from all sources, sports ventures have proved to be a profitable branch of the entertainment industry. In this article, we will be looking at a few of the most valuable and profitable sports leagues across the world with respect to their yearly average revenue, brought to you by kingjohnnie.info.
National Basketball Association (NBA) – $8 Billion in Revenue
The National Basketball Association (NBA) enjoys widespread popularity and fame when compared to other sports leagues. This should come as no surprise since basketball is considered as the top five most liked sports across the world, having garnered over 800 million global fans. So it is expected that the most popular basketball league in the world would have a spot at the top of the most successful sports leagues in the world.
The NBA has been making huge revenues from valuable deals signed with TV broadcasters, with a sum of $500 million made in international media revenue. Back in 2019, Forbes made an estimation that shows that at least an NBA franchise is worth $1 billion and the average team in NBA is worth $1.87 billion.
Attendance and ticket sales show the prolific rise of NBA games. Teams like New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers are all franchises worth over $2 billion.
Major League Baseball (MLB) – $10 Billion in Revenue
Baseball is not popular when it comes to the global fanbase, as most of its fans come from North America. But that doesn’t stop it from being the second most profitable league in the world and from the looks of it, MLB will be holding that spot for a long while considering the distance.
Back in 1992, MLB was reported to have grossed just $1.2 billion and it only moved up as it recorded gross revenue of $10.3 billion in 2018 and $10.7 billion in 2019. This also means that each team in the MLB made more than $300 million last season, which was covered with odds from top payout online casinos at the time.
National Football League (NFL) – $16 Billion in Revenue
Sitting at the top is the American National Football League (NFL), and is way ahead of European football that is considered the most popular sport across the world. Garnering most of its fans from the United States and Canada, it is the most profitable sports league in the world.
The NFL generated over $13 and $16 billion in 2017 and 2018 respectively while revenue will be expected to take a huge leap of $5 billion in 2021. NFL has a huge partnership with television networks like ESPN, NBC, Fox and many other, and every one of the account for the majority of its annual revenue. Half of the NFL’s revenue is shared among the 32 franchises in the league.