New Delhi, June 16 -- The Indian Premier League (IPL) for Cricket is the second largest sports league in the world after the American National Football League (NFL).

You read that right, second largest in the world! And the IPL is a toddler, only 18 years old, compared to over 125 years of the American Major League Baseball's existence, 100 years of the NFL's and 75 years of Formula One's. The NFL dominates all revenue metrics like total revenue (nearly $20 billion), revenue per team ($600 million) and revenue per match ($67 million).

The last of these metrics is considered the most relevant for comparison across geographies and formats, and the IPL comes in second with nearly $17 million per match. Justifying its position as a young le...