Top 10 Richest Sports in the World

We love to play, and that is why there are many sports with millions of participants and fans. Since millions of people are actively or passively involved, the richest sports have TV revenues, sponsorship, merchandise sales, and other types of income being generated regularly. Some of the richest sports thus generate not millions of billions of dollars each year. The money mostly comes from TV revenues, match day attendance, merchandise sales, etc.

Here, I have made a list of the top ten richest sports in the world with a little bit of description. I have mostly focused on the money aspect.

American Football

American Football is mostly popular in the USA and Canada, but it has a huge market in the USA because of its massive popularity. The National Football League is the richest in professional sports in the world. As far as average attendance is concerned, the National Football League (NFL) has the highest average attendance per match with an average attendance of 67,000. Dallas Cowboy has an average attendance of 93,00 and it is the highest for any club or team in any sport in the world. This is way more than any team in the English Premier League (EPL).

Football is more than a sport in the USA. Rather, it is a part of popular culture. Monday Night Football is one of the most popular TV programs, and the Super Bowl is the most popular or most watched TV Program in the country. In terms of TV revenue, the NFL is miles ahead of any league in the world with an average of $10 billion per year.

The best part of the NFL is that its income from TV revenue is equally distributed among the 32 participating teams. So, all the participating teams have solid financial conditions.

Baseball

If you live in South Asia, then you might get the feeling that baseball is a variant of cricket. Well, it is not true since baseball has many distinctive elements lacking or totally absent in cricket. Unlike American football, it has become successful in being a very popular sport outside of America and Canada. Baseball is very popular in some countries of the Caribbean Islands as well as in Cuba, Japan, and South Korea. 

Major League Baseball is the most popular league in the world. It is a physically demanding league, with each team having to play 162 games in a regular season (within just 26 weeks). As there are so many matches, average attendance is much smaller than the NFL. Its TV revenue is massive.

TV revenue of MLB is huge, and it is increasing all the time. Read this:  MLB Revenues Hit Record $12.1 Billion In 2024.

About MLB attendance, I am quoting from their website:

The 2024 Major League Baseball season recorded increases in attendance, viewership, streaming, and fan engagement in its second season of new rules, which have shortened games, removed dead time, helped showcase the athleticism of the players, and created more action on the bases. The average time of game in 2024 was 2:36, the crispest average in 40 years (1984, 2:35). Stolen bases also increased to 3,617, the most in 109 years (1915) and the third most in any Major League season since 1900, behind 1914 (4,574) and 1915 (4,108).

Basketball

Basketball is popular in many countries in the world, but the money is mostly confined to the USA. The NBA or National Basketball Association is the professional league in America comprising 30 teams. Out of 30, one is from Canada and the rest are from the USA.

A team here plays 82 matches during a regular season-41 home and 41 away matches. Average attendance per match is around 19,000. The ticket price is somewhere between US$20 and US$ 1000 in regular matches. The NBA is popular not only in the USA and Canada but also in some other countries like Brazil, China, Spain, and several other countries. China is a big market for the NBA, and there is a lot of room for growth.

 In fact, outside of America, in terms of TV audience, the NBA is ahead of the other major US sports leagues, and this surely helps the NBA earn a lot of money from outside of the US. Thus, the TV revenue of the NBA is going to increase a lot in the next few years. Read: NBA nears rights deal worth $76 billion with NBC, ESPN, and Amazon. Well, this huge amount of money is going to come not in one year but in the next 11 years. Yet, it is a huge deal and will make NBA teams richer.

 

Ice Hockey

Ice Hockey is popular in some countries like Russia, Finland, etc, but the money is mostly found in the USA and Canada. The National Hockey League (NHL) is one of the four major leagues in the USA and Canada. Ice Hockey is very popular all over Canada. As for the USA, it is mostly popular in the northern part of the country, where there is a lot of snowfall.

Of the four major leagues in America, Ice hockey has the least amount of revenue compared to the NHL, MLB, and NBA. The main reason for that is that it is not equally popular in every part of the USA. It is mostly popular with the White population in the USA. As a result, it is not earning that much in terms of TV revenue. Only 19% of total revenue is from TV rights.

However, when it comes to ticket sales NHL is doing great. Nearly 44% of its revenue comes from match-day ticket sales. That figure is massive compared to the NFL’s 17% of overall revenue from ticket sales. It is not that more people join NFL matches compared to the NFL or MLB, but the ticket price is high compared to any other sports in the US. NFL fans are among the highest earners in the USA and Canada, and are highly educated too.

 

Wrestling

Some of the readers may raise their eyebrows at seeing wrestling here because professional wrestling, like WWE, is not exactly a competitive sport but a form of entertainment where almost everything is staged. It is a multi-billion-dollar industry in which WWE is leading the pack with US$1.39 billion in 2024. Its major rival, AEW, had revenue of just $168 million in 2024. However,  it has got a better TV deal for the coming years.

When it comes to average attendance, WWE is far ahead of AEW and TNA, and other wrestling promotions. WWE has a huge fan base in India. Pro-wrestling is also popular in Japan. However, the main market is North America.

Football

Some games are there whose popularity never changes. Football is such a game. Even in 2025, because of people’s busy lives, whether online, through streaming, by watching highlights, or sitting directly in the stadium, people don’t want to miss out on the excitement of football.

Around any popular sport now, millions and billions of dollars are added to a country's revenue. The average value of the world’s most valuable football teams is now 2.3 billion dollars. So, when it comes to football, everyone keeps their eyes on which team is ahead in every aspect. Among the top 30 teams in the world, Real Madrid is in the first position. For 3 years in a row, Real Madrid has held its position, and its current market value is 6.6 billion US dollars. The team has contributed 873 million US dollars to Spain's revenue.

Till now, Real Madrid has won 14 international titles. Among these, 6 Champions Leagues, 4 European Super Leagues, and 4 World Cups. You or I cannot just go and buy Real Madrid’s shares. Because the team’s ownership has already fulfilled its fixed number of members.

The team in the second position in football is Manchester United. The value of this team is 6.55 billion dollars, from which England earns 785 million dollars in revenue. Because of the fast-paced action and simplicity, football is so popular. Sitting at home, at the same time or later by tuning in, many people around the world watch this game, and just like the audience’s emotions are connected with it, in the same way, different brands, broadcasters, and advertisers also have to keep their connection with this game.

 

Cricket

The intense excitement of cricket depends on the perfect or imperfect coordination between bat and ball, as well as on the wicketkeeper and the fielders. Like other sports, the world of cricket also has an international cricket board (ICC), but each country has its own separate cricket board. Among them, the richest cricket board in the world is the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

 Under the Indian Cricket Board is the world's most expensive team, named the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is worth more than 10 billion dollars. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is worth 2.2 billion US dollars. This amount of revenue coming only from cricket has turned the country into a rich one in the cricketing world. The world's richest cricket player, Sachin Tendulkar, was a proud player of this team.

 In the world of sports, the best achievement of the world’s richest BCCI so far is being champions twice in the World Cup (1983, 2011), twice in the T20 World Cup (2007, 2024), and champions three times in the Champions Trophy (2002, 2013, 2025). You’ll be surprised to know that only for IPL, during the 2023–2027 season, their broadcasting share went up for auction at 6.2 billion dollars.

In the world, cricket is the most popular sport in South Asia, England, Australia, and South Africa. However, its popularity is now spreading to other countries too. The second richest cricket board in the cricketing world is CA (Australia), which generates revenue of 79 million US dollars. The team plays a strong role nationally and internationally through their matches and broadcasts. Cricket lovers become fans of everything involved in this sport for a long time. As a result, the role of cricket can be seen in their everyday life.

Tennis

Tennis is one of the most popular games in the world. For the same reason, tennis is also positioned among the richest sports. In tennis, sometimes one plays alone and sometimes in a team of two, and the winner is announced accordingly. Though it is not as expensive a game as football or cricket, or basketball, many people are surprised when they come to know about the wealth and lifestyle of rich tennis players.

But there is nothing to be surprised about. Behind tennis being on the list of rich sports, besides the match tickets of the tennis ground, the contracts that happen between the players and the renowned brands have made it even richer.

So, till March 2025, Novak Djokovic is at the top of the career-based list of rich tennis players. He won the most prizes in tennis. His total career earnings are about 187 million US dollars. In the same way, in second and third position in the game career are Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who won around 135 and 130 million US dollars in prize money respectively by playing tennis. On the other hand, in women’s tennis tournaments, Margaret Court held the record for winning the most tournaments, which was the same for both women and men. Later, in 2023, Novak Djokovic broke that record and equaled it।

 

Boxing

When we think of boxing, it feels like two hands with gloves, a ring all around, two boxers, and one referee. This very exciting game’s income depends mostly on pay-per-view. Besides that, high-profile elite-class boxers spend millions on their training centers, nutrition, coaching, and sparring partners. Additionally, the directors and promoters who manage the boxing games also earn a big part of the income from this sport. Because organizing and preparing for a high-profile fight in boxing costs more than a million dollars.

All together, boxing has made its own proud position among the richest sports in the world. In 2025, the world’s richest boxer is Floyd Mayweather, who holds an undefeated record of 50 fights. He is at the top for the most profitable pay-per-view. This 48-year-old boxer’s total career income is 1.2 billion US dollars. From the side of the rich boxers, we see George Foreman in the second position.

Golf

Golf is perhaps the most expensive sport in the world. Everything related to playing golf is expensive and takes a lot of money. For example, membership in a golf course or a club is very expensive anywhere in the world. Its equipment is also very expensive, and playing needs a good amount of money.

Golf is indeed a sport for rich people only, so naturally, the TV audience mainly consists of them. There are around 70 million golf players around the world. The major source of income is TV revenue, which is more than one billion dollars.

Golf is extremely popular in the USA, with millions of people either actively participating in this sport or following it closely. Top corporate companies are eager to sponsor different tournaments, and the ticket price is also highly expensive. That makes some of the top golf players very rich, and you cannot imagine how rich they are.

There are nearly 40,000 golf courses around the world, and 40% (around 15,000) of them are located in the United States of America. In recent years, the Saudi Arabian royal family has been investing heavily in golf, and as a result, it is becoming popular in the oil-rich Middle East countries.

Conclusion

This post will surely attract some visitors and some controversies about the definition of the richest sports. Some fans will love to argue about their favorite sports being absent from this list. Well, you have got all the opportunity to present your idea in the comment section. You are welcome to write detailed comments about your favorite sports or about why this article is not accurate enough or good enough.