The Champions Trophy 2025 has hit the ground running as eight teams compete for the first major International Cricket Council (ICC) title of 2025. India, South Africa and New Zealand have all got off to a comprehensive start as they look to add one more trophy to their cabinet. While the teams are in action at the big tournament, players and franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL) have already begun preparations for the upcoming season. Here is a detailed financial breakdown of IPL 2025 and the Champions Trophy and why the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is outsmarting the ICC. 

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IPL vs Champions Trophy financial breakdown

On 14 Feb 2025, ICC announced a whopping 53 per cent increase in prize money for the Champions Trophy 2025 as the tournament will splurge a cash of $6.9 million. The winner of the Champions Trophy 2025 will earn $2.24 million while runners-up will receive $1.12 million. On the other hand, losing semi-finalists of the Champions Trophy 2025 will walk away with $560,000 each from the total prize pot of $6.9 million.

Comparing this to IPL 2025, Rishabh Pant (the most expensive player) was snapped by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a price tag of $3.1 million. This means the most expensive player in the IPL alone is pocketing more than the overall prize money earned by the winning team.

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Breaking it down further, the current TV and broadcasting deals value one IPL match at an astonishing price of $13.6 million (INR 1.18 billion). This means one IPL match is valued at almost twice that of the entire price money of the Champions Trophy 2025. 

ALSO READ | Ind vs Pak Champions Trophy 2025: All you need to know, check Live streaming, Head to head, stats, pitch report, squad 

Prize money comparison

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At the time of writing, the prize money for IPL 2025 was yet to be confirmed, but if it is compared to IPL 2024, ICC just about manages to topple the BCCI. However, if the prize money is amended then there will be only one winner in IPL. The BCCI set a total prize pool of INR 465 million ($5.4 million) for IPL 2024 as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) emerged victorious in the final match and received INR 200 million ($2.3 million) in prize money.

Overall, the BCCI and the IPL have emerged as major players having dominated the financial side over the last two decades.