The twin IPL franchise sales on Tuesday commanded a combined $3.41 billion — nearly five times the $723.59 million paid by the league’s eight founding franchises in 2008.The Manoj Badale-led Emerging Media consortium exited Rajasthan at a staggering 2,333% return, selling its stake for $1.63 billion — a dramatic leap from the original outlay of $67 million. Within hours came confirmation that Royal Challengers Bengaluru had also found new owners, commanding $1.78 billion.Rajasthan’s new ownership group includes US-based entrepreneur Kal Somani, Walmart heir Rob Walton — who also owns NFL franchise the Denver Broncos — and the Ham family, owners of the Detroit Lions.RCB has been acquired by the Aditya Birla Group and the Times Group alongside US-based firms Bolt Ventures and Blackstone. Bolt Ventures is led by prominent sports investor David Blitzer, whose portfolio spans multiple leagues and continents — from the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils to the Premier League’s Crystal Palace and MLS side Real Salt Lake.Over the past decade, American investors have increasingly turned to global sport, particularly European football and the English Premier League, as fertile investment ground. Now, that playbook is extending to cricket.According to Simon Chadwick, professor of Afro-Eurasian Sport at Emlyon Business School, the surge in US interest in cricket is being driven by a mix of factors: the growing Indian diaspora in North America, cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and the sport’s expanding commercial footprint worldwide.Story continues below this adChadwick said the ‘Indian diasporas across North America have rapidly become the heartbeat of cricket’s impending global revolution’ and are ‘accentuating cricket’s commercial proposition’.“The likes of Google CEO Sundar Pichai have become prime movers in promoting the game, especially in the US — the world’s biggest domestic market for sport. They have convinced investors that there’s a strong business case for investing in cricket,” Chadwick told The Indian Express. “The Indian market has volume, and the Olympics will expand its global footprint, while investment interest from the Saudi Arabian and UAE governments adds further impetus.”There’s also the affordability factor. The average franchise value in the NFL stands at $5.1 billion and in the NBA at $3.9 billion, according to The Conversation. IPL teams, in this context, are bargain buys — especially given the potential for high returns on investment.A WPP Media report earlier this week revealed India’s sports economy crossed $2 billion in 2025. Cricket dominates with an 89 per cent share, including 81 per cent of sponsorship spends, 87 per cent of endorsements, and 95 per cent of media investments — most of it driven by the IPL.Story continues below this adAlso Read | After record IPL deals involving RCB and RR, experts warn that ‘investment bubble’ might burstChadwick pointed to the ‘size of India’s domestic market alongside the maturity in large sport markets such as the UK and Australia’. “One can see there’s a firm platform for expansion. One also needs to remember that the Arabian Gulf region has rapidly emerged as an important cricket hub. Current US investment in Indian cricket could, in part, be an attempt to pre-empt possible investment from the likes of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund,” he said.Santosh N, managing partner at D&P Advisory, said American investors may not be taking a long-term position. He cited CVC Capital, which made a significant profit by selling a 67 per cent stake in Gujarat Titans to the Torrent Group for approximately Rs 5,025 crore in 2025 — having purchased the franchise for Rs 5,625 crore in 2021, recovering most of its initial investment while retaining a 33 per cent stake.“The way these guys look at it is they will say, okay, I’ll hold on to it for five years, eight years… If I’m able to make a 30 per cent per annum sort of return, I’m going to sell and exit and make money,” Santosh said.If IPL investments are a means of making a quick profit for American capitalists, for Indian owners these are ‘trophy assets’, Santosh added — their high valuations a product of a skewed demand-supply ratio.Story continues below this ad“This is a prestige issue. I want it. This gives me satisfaction. These are assets that massage your ego,” he said. “Everybody knows some of these assets don’t really make money in the long run. But it is very important for rich people to have them.”Santosh added that entry points into the IPL are limited for Indian billionaires, given only 10 franchises exist and half are owned by conglomerates unlikely to sell. “There are so many billionaires interested in acquiring a team and hardly two or three available for purchase. So there is a huge premium out there.”