Battle of the Bucks: IPL 2025 vs PSL 2025 Prize Money Comparison

For the first time since their respective establishments, the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Pakistan Super League (PSL) are overlapping in the same time window. The IPL began 15 days ago, while the PSL started recently on April 11.

Pakistan postponed their marquee league because they hosted the Champions Trophy in 2025, which India won earlier this year. The PSL started 9 years ago, while the IPL began 17 years ago. The IPL has attracted over 600 million viewers globally, with that number increasing every year, making it one of the biggest leagues in the world. In comparison, the PSL, which typically runs in January and February, attracts around 160 million viewers, also showing gradual improvement year by year.

This year, the PSL's clash with the IPL might motivate the PSL to enhance the quality of their tournament. Hasan Ali mentioned in a press conference before the tournament that if the PSL delivers high quality, viewers may turn their attention to it.

Battle of the Leagues

Now, regarding the prize money, the IPL generally offers a higher payout compared to the PSL, thanks to the wealth of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and generous sponsorships. The IPL winners receive a cheque of 20 crore INR, while the runners-up get 13 crore. Teams finishing third and fourth receive 7 crore and 6.5 crore, respectively.

In contrast, the PSL prize money is structured differently. The winners receive 14.07 crore PKR (approximately 4.3 crore INR), and the runners-up get around 5.62 crore PKR (about 1.7 crore INR). 

For clearer insights, here’s a comparison of prize money between the IPL 2025 and PSL 2025 from recent seasons (amounts are expressed in INR for clarity):

Despite the PSL edging ahead in individual awards, it still has a long way to go in terms of total cumulative prize money. Currently, the IPL remains far ahead of the PSL.