Sports bind us all together, with millions sitting in front of their screens to get a view of the action. Sports were somewhat isolated events back in the day when games used to be played in stadiums with not a lot of people to experience it. However, the invention of the radio and subsequently, the television completely revolutionized the sports viewing experience.
The rise in viewership has also made some of the sporting events tremendously profitable. However, now the question arises as to how you even calculate the net worth of a game. There are several parameters here to base this upon.
The most common is to look at the highest-paid players in the world and identify the sports they are proficient at. But it gives us only half a picture and is inclined towards the highest rather than the average or the median money being made. Hence, it’s arguably better to base the ranking on the average salaries made by players in the sport (including sponsorship).
It has been done extensively, and a list has been prepared for the top 5 sports that make the most money today.
Soccer
The FA premier league in soccer garners worldwide recognition for its competitiveness and viewer experience. Established players such as Wayne Rooney earn upwards of 19 million USD a year, which is a staggering amount for any sporting event in the world. The average salary is calculated to be around 1.6 million USD. That’s why football is so popular in the sports betting industry according to SBOBET 365.
American Football
Next on the list is the NFL or American football. It may come as a surprise to a lot of you that the NFL doesn’t rank higher on this list. But the fact is that the NFL doesn’t have the same user base as some of these other sports do. However, it still rakes in big dollars and is a complete cash grab. The average salary is somewhere around 2 million USD.
Ice Hockey
Ice Hockey that is the NHL is immensely popular in Canada and some of the European countries as well. The fact is that the NHL overall doesn’t even come close to competing with the NFL or the NBA in terms of revenue. But the averages are tipped in its favor because of the fewer number of teams participating and hence make it a real cash grab. The average salary is 2.58 million USD.
Baseball
Baseball is another sport that is immensely popular in the US. It rakes in big numbers both in terms of revenue as well as viewers. The taxes have been steadily increasing and are only likely to go up. The average salary for the sport is around 3.82 million USD.
Basketball
It’s no mystery that basketball is arguably the most popular sport in the US today. Huge sponsorship deals, as well as brand endorsements, help make this sport a global phenomenon. The average salary for the game is upwards of a whopping 4.9 million USD.
Conclusion
These five sports have revolutionized sporting finances and opened up doors for future investments as well. Massive brand endorsements have made athletes into household names which have further solidified the financial construct of professional sports. This trend is only likely to increase moving ahead.
