Lalit Modi

If you're a Major League Baseball organization, you have minor league baseball teams around the country and academies around the world where you are signing and developing players.

If you're a Major League Baseball organization, you have minor league baseball teams around the country and academies around the world where you are signing and developing players.

And not just that, but it is a 365-day around-the-world global operation where you are identifying, developing, preparing talent to play at the highest levels of the game. Right now, none of the individual teams, franchises themselves, and the IPL are doing that. They are starting, but mostly that work falls on the BCCI.

And not just that, but it is a 365-day around-the-world global operation where you are identifying, developing, preparing talent to play at the highest levels of the game. Right now, none of the individual teams, franchises themselves, and the IPL are doing that. They are starting, but mostly that work falls on the BCCI.

And does the BCCI need hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars to do player development and sort of non-existent stadium infrastructure development? No.

And does the BCCI need hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars to do player development and sort of non-existent stadium infrastructure development? No.

This is great. You're setting up a question I have at the end of the episode. So we will come back to that. Great. So, okay, that's how the franchise auction works. That is in the information memorandum that goes out to all the franchise bidders for the franchise auction.

This is great. You're setting up a question I have at the end of the episode. So we will come back to that. Great. So, okay, that's how the franchise auction works. That is in the information memorandum that goes out to all the franchise bidders for the franchise auction.

I mean, basically, the net of this, as we've implied all along, is you're getting a pretty sweet deal almost no matter what you bid.

I mean, basically, the net of this, as we've implied all along, is you're getting a pretty sweet deal almost no matter what you bid.

Yes. Lalit and the BCCI would say, oh, no, no, no. Of course it was open and transparent.

Yes. Lalit and the BCCI would say, oh, no, no, no. Of course it was open and transparent.

Sure. In practice, on the ground, almost assuredly, what you just said there is 100% true. So minimum reserve auction price for the franchise auction is $50 million per franchise, which would be paid over 10 years, $400 million for the collective eight franchises. They end up selling for $724 million collectively. So there's a lot of bidding that happens.

Sure. In practice, on the ground, almost assuredly, what you just said there is 100% true. So minimum reserve auction price for the franchise auction is $50 million per franchise, which would be paid over 10 years, $400 million for the collective eight franchises. They end up selling for $724 million collectively. So there's a lot of bidding that happens.

So what, 90-ish million a team is the average? Yes. The most expensive franchise is the Mumbai franchise, unsurprisingly, being the biggest city where Bollywood is located, etc. That, gosh, really, you couldn't script this any better, duh, is bought by Mukesh Ambani, the wealthiest person in India and the CEO of Reliance, for $112 million. Highest bid in the auction, but not like that much more.

So what, 90-ish million a team is the average? Yes. The most expensive franchise is the Mumbai franchise, unsurprisingly, being the biggest city where Bollywood is located, etc. That, gosh, really, you couldn't script this any better, duh, is bought by Mukesh Ambani, the wealthiest person in India and the CEO of Reliance, for $112 million. Highest bid in the auction, but not like that much more.

The spread here is not that big between the highest and the lowest.

The spread here is not that big between the highest and the lowest.

Totally. The central revenue stream, this is an incredibly well-architected league. Yep. The cheapest franchise, as we said, is the Rajasthan Royals, which is bought by a UK investor consortium led by Manoj Badali, who actually lives in the UK, in London, for $67 million, so roughly half the price of the Mumbai franchise. Shah Rukh Khan's group gets the Kolkata Knight Riders for $75 million.

Totally. The central revenue stream, this is an incredibly well-architected league. Yep. The cheapest franchise, as we said, is the Rajasthan Royals, which is bought by a UK investor consortium led by Manoj Badali, who actually lives in the UK, in London, for $67 million, so roughly half the price of the Mumbai franchise. Shah Rukh Khan's group gets the Kolkata Knight Riders for $75 million.