NEW DELHI: If you think that cricketers’ wages in the Indian Premier League don’t measure up to what English Premier League footballers make, think again.
According to the inaugural Annual Review of Global Sports Salaries to be published later this week by sportingintelligence.com, the second highest-paid league, based on first-team salaries on a pro-rata basis, is our very own IPL.
Second only to the American National Basketball Association (NBA) league, whose annual average salary is 2.62 million pounds, the IPL’s average salary, calculated over a year, is 2.5 million pounds. It must be remembered that the league is only played over a six-week period, making what cricketers earn for playing Twenty20 matches astounding.
The third highest-paid is American Major League Baseball (MLB), at 1.82 million pounds while EPL comes in fourth, at 1.46 million pounds.
In the 211-team list currently monitored by average first-team pay, Royal Challengers Bangalore comes in at 12th, at an average of 57,833 pounds a week, standing two places above Manchester United.
According to a review of global sports salaries, and the IPL boasts of three teams within the top-30 bracket.
The IPL has edged the English Premier League, who has two teams in the list – Manchester United and Chelsea. RCB is No. 12 (£57,833 per week), and others on the list are Kolkata Knight Riders (£56,445) and Chennai Super Kings (£55,526). At No. 1 is the MLB’s New York Yankees (£89,897).
All data is taken from seasons played or ending in 2009 except for European football clubs.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/iplarticleshow/5736736.cms