Sports have always been associated with humans since ancient times. Well in the 300 and 400 BC, the sports had no rules, it was always a violent affair. However, over the years, sports underwent development.
Gradually, the rules and regulations were established, organizing bodies came into existence, and fast forward to 2022, sports is now a million-dollar industry. With the technological evolution, commercialization, and professionalization, sports have become a business for the corporate world and big businessmen.
Many biggest sports leagues that are going around the world are not only famous but also have millions of budgets. These fastest-growing sports leagues in the world, have contributed much to their domestic economy. In this blog, we will learn about the top 10 biggest sports leagues in the world.
10. National Football League
The National Football League is an American Football League. It is the highest professional level of American football in the world. Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans, and Los Angeles Chargers are some of the famous teams. It is a far more physical game than association football and thus requires lots of protective gear and equipment.
In 2021, the league earned $16 Billion and the amount is only expected to rise. Thus the National Football League is the world’s richest and biggest sports league.
9. Indian Premier League
This becomes even more fascinating when people in Europe or America are not at all aware of cricket. Recently, Viacom18 has bagged the digital streaming rights of IPL at a whopping Rs 48390 crore for 5 years. IPL makes a revenue of $10 billion in 2022.
8. Major League Baseball
Again the American league occupies one of the top spots in list of biggest sports leagues. Major League Baseball is a baseball league that is considered the oldest major professional sports league in the world. As cricket is famous in India, Baseball is famous in America.
If you remember, the only All-Star cricket tournament took place in America on the baseball ground itself. The league produces $10 Billion per annum which makes it 3rd richest sports league in the world.
7. National Basketball Association
Teams like Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and Boston Celtics have a worldwide fan base. The NBA generates $8 billion yearly as their revenue.
6. English Premier League
The clubs have been owned by millionaires and billionaires. Fans do not have any control over the club, as fans in Germany have over their different clubs. The clubs in EPL, especially the big ones, are always under scrutiny for their expenditure. Well, quite clearly the league has huge revenue, to be precise $5.3 billion each year.
5. National Hockey League
NHL is a league of ice hockey and the rules of ice hockey are slightly different than field hockey. The league has huge popularity in Canada and the United States. The revenue generated by NHL is $4.8 billion which makes it the 6th highest in the world.
4. La Liga Santander
The Spanish league La Liga is number 7 and is among the richest sports leagues in the world. La Liga comprises some top European clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, Villarreal, etc. Revenue generated by La Liga is $4.5 Billion per year.
3. Bundesliga
However, the German league ranks at number 8 in the list of the biggest sports leagues in the world. The league generates revenue of $4.3 billion.
On a positive note, the league keeps producing talents to which the European clubs are always attracted and despite the Bayern domination, 5 Bundesliga clubs will feature in the 2022-23 UCL, which is quite a major achievement for the league.
2. Serie A
Serie A is a football competition played in Italy. The competition has a great history along with great tradition. The league is famous for tactical play rather than a game of pace and thrill. Serie A has always been under scrutiny as Juventus dominates the league.
Well, to football fans’ delight, in the recently concluded season, AC Milan won the Scudetto and has rejuvenated Italian football. Italian Serie A ranks at number 9 in the list of Sports leagues by highest revenue. The competition generates $2.3 billion every year.
1. UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League is the most prestigious and most craved trophy for any footballer and a football fan. The anthem, the atmosphere, everything is of top quality when it comes to UCL. UCL was founded in 1954. UEFA generates a total of $2 billion each year.
There will be some significant changes in the format of UCL from the 2022-23 season and that’s why it has been under a lot of criticism. However, this has created hype and the UEFA Champions League will continue to be on the list of the richest sports leagues in the world.