The Indian Premier League is often termed as “Indian Paisa League”. The amount involved in the league is humongous. Everything that crosses the boundary ropes and enters the field has a price tag attached to it. A tournament of such magnitude in which eight franchises compete over two months is bound to have a big prize money. Back in 2008, nobody expected IPL to take over T20 cricket in the way it has.
The Rajasthan Royals won the inaugural season of the IPL and received the prize money of Rs. 4.8 crores. Chennai Super Kings bagged Rs. 2.4 crores for finishing as the runners up, while the Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils received Rs. 1.2 crores each for finishing in the 3rd and 4th place respectively.
There was no change in the prize money for the second season. However, this time it was the Deccan Chargers who bagged the big bucks while the Royal Challengers Bangalore claimed the second spot.
As years passed, IPL kept growing and growing, attracting more and more sponsors. With increased revenue to the BCCI, prize money was bound to be increased. In 2010, CSK took the top spot with Rs. 6 crores while the Mumbai Indians finished as runners up with Rs 3 crores.
The yellow army seemed unstoppable as it won the 2011 season too with the prize money of Rs. 10 crores, while RCB took away Rs. 5 crores, finishing second. In just four seasons, the runner-ups were getting more money than what the winners had got in the inaugural season. This showed that IPL was growing at a rapid pace.
Just when it seemed that the prize money would remain constant, BCCI again increased the reward to Rs. 13.8 crores in 2012. Kolkata Knight Riders took the money home with CSK taking Rs. 6.9 crores for bagging the second spot. Such huge sums were never witnessed in domestic cricket ever. Winning the IPL meant that franchises would be able to project a healthy financial statement.
In 2013, the prize money was reduced to Rs. 10 crores. Until 2013, the runner-ups used to get half the amount that the winners got. But from 2013, the share of runner-ups was increased. Mumbai Indians were crowned as champions and went away richer by Rs. 10 crores while CSK pocketed Rs. 7.5 crores.
2014 saw dominant performances by KKR who eventually went all the way with Rs. 13 crores. The underdogs Kings XI Punjab finished up as runners up with Rs. 8 crores.
In 2015, 2016 and 2017 the prize money for winners remained fixed at Rs. 15 crores, with runners up bagging Rs. 10 crores. In this period, the Mumbai Indians clinched the title twice with KKR winning once. However, there were three different runner-ups. Such big sums were never involved in domestic cricket. No other cricket league offered this sum of money.
| SEASON | WINNERS | RUNNERS | ||
| TEAM NAME | PRIZE MONEY | TEAM NAME | PRIZE MONEY | |
| 2008 | RAJASTHAN ROYALS | 4.8 CRORES | CHENNAI SUPER KINGS | 2.4 CRORES |
| 2009 | DECCAN CHARGERS | 4.8 CRORES | ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE | 2.4 CRORES |
| 2010 | CHENNAI SUPER KINGS | 6 CRORES | MUMBAI INDIANS | 3 CRORES |
| 2011 | CHENNAI SUPER KINGS | 10 CRORES | ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE | 5 CRORES |
| 2012 | KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS | 13.8 CRORES | CHENNAI SUPER KINGS | 6.9 CRORES |
| 2013 | MUMBAI INDIANS | 10 CRORES | CHENNAI SUPER KINGS | 7.5 CRORES |
| 2014 | KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS | 13 CRORES | KINGS XI PUNJAB | 8 CRORES |
| 2015 | MUMBAI INDIANS | 15 CRORES | CHENNAI SUPER KINGS | 10 CRORES |
| 2016 | KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS | 15 CRORES | ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE | 10 CRORES |
| 2017 | MUMBAI INDIANS | 15 CRORES | RISING PUNE SUPERGIANTs | 10 CRORES |
The IPL 2018 is going to see a huge rise in prize money with winners taking home a sum of Rs. 25 crores. This can be attributed to the humongous deal with Star India worth over Rs. 16000 crores for broadcasting rights. The runners up will receive Rs. 12.5 crores, which is just 2.5 crores less than what the winners got in 2017.
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