Lalit Modi

They were the cheapest franchise that was sold at the franchise auction, too. So they get penalized by the league. They end up winning the championship because they come into the auction with better analytics than everyone else.

They were the cheapest franchise that was sold at the franchise auction, too. So they get penalized by the league. They end up winning the championship because they come into the auction with better analytics than everyone else.

Well, I think there's two important impacts of that. One, most important for competitive dynamics is You can do all the gaming, all the colluding, all the side deals that you want that won't get you any more resources in the auction. And it also won't get you any superior information unless you were to do something really crazy like collude with a player to say, I'm not going to bid on you.

Well, I think there's two important impacts of that. One, most important for competitive dynamics is You can do all the gaming, all the colluding, all the side deals that you want that won't get you any more resources in the auction. And it also won't get you any superior information unless you were to do something really crazy like collude with a player to say, I'm not going to bid on you.

You will go to another team and then I will pay you money to play worse for that team, like to throw matches. Which, by the way, kind of might start to happen in the next couple of years here, as we'll see. Yikes! But you would have to get really dark to impact the competitive spirit of the game here. And then the other important impact that I think you were saying there, Ben, is...

You will go to another team and then I will pay you money to play worse for that team, like to throw matches. Which, by the way, kind of might start to happen in the next couple of years here, as we'll see. Yikes! But you would have to get really dark to impact the competitive spirit of the game here. And then the other important impact that I think you were saying there, Ben, is...

Because all of this collapses to a single point in time, it means the IPL and Lolic can say all player contracts are standard contracts. There's no terms. There's no negotiations. Every player will be at three years and both sides have an option to pull out after each year. So the team could say after year two, you're not playing good anymore. I'm cutting you.

Because all of this collapses to a single point in time, it means the IPL and Lolic can say all player contracts are standard contracts. There's no terms. There's no negotiations. Every player will be at three years and both sides have an option to pull out after each year. So the team could say after year two, you're not playing good anymore. I'm cutting you.

I'm going to send you back to the auction pool. Likewise, player could pull out. And that also means no agents. So at this point in time, I think most IPL players probably do have agents, but agents just can't impact things that much. Because it's a standard contract.

I'm going to send you back to the auction pool. Likewise, player could pull out. And that also means no agents. So at this point in time, I think most IPL players probably do have agents, but agents just can't impact things that much. Because it's a standard contract.

Exactly.

Exactly.

So now you might say, well, wait, why would players agree to this? This seems really team and owner friendly and not player friendly. And indeed, if you look at the percentage of revenue that IPL players make in the IPL versus in the NFL, players are essentially getting 50% of revenue. the league's revenues.

So now you might say, well, wait, why would players agree to this? This seems really team and owner friendly and not player friendly. And indeed, if you look at the percentage of revenue that IPL players make in the IPL versus in the NFL, players are essentially getting 50% of revenue. the league's revenues.

Yep. In IPL, even today, I think players are getting 12 to 15% of the revenue of the league.

Yep. In IPL, even today, I think players are getting 12 to 15% of the revenue of the league.

But... They're thrilled. This is great for the players for two reasons. There's a carrot and a stick here. The carrot is before the IPL, they weren't making any money.

But... They're thrilled. This is great for the players for two reasons. There's a carrot and a stick here. The carrot is before the IPL, they weren't making any money.

Yeah. Before this, all the players were paid by their international boards, which meant, one, you had to make it onto the international team in your country. There was just one team. So there were such a small number of players that could even get paid at all to play cricket. Now, all of a sudden, you have eight teams within India. So it increases the pool of players.

Yeah. Before this, all the players were paid by their international boards, which meant, one, you had to make it onto the international team in your country. There was just one team. So there were such a small number of players that could even get paid at all to play cricket. Now, all of a sudden, you have eight teams within India. So it increases the pool of players.