Sport unites fans across the globe to come in support of one player or a team. Where most people play to stay active, some have dedicated their lives to a sport of their choice and become the legends as we know them today. Soccer often occupies the top spot among the most popular sports in the world, the others being cricket, basketball, and tennis. Here are some interesting statistics and facts about these games.

Soccer
The FIFA World Cup and European soccer leagues have amassed a fan following of billions. As a result, these sports leagues have an enormous combined market worth. While soccer is the preferred term used to describe the game here, many countries call it football. And this can be confusing at times since we know a different type of football, the adrenaline-pumping form of contact sport, popularly played in the NFL. Both men’s and women’s soccer are official entries for nations that compete in the Olympics and World Championships on a regular schedule.

Soccer is one of the top-paying sports for athletes competing in the top leagues representing their nation and private clubs. Lionel Messi takes the number one spot as of 2022 with a total of $130 million in sporting income. The exciting part is that 58% of this revenue in the past year came from prize money, yearly salaries, and football bonuses for peak performance. Athletes with sponsor and advertising deals generate additional recurring revenue off-field for brand endorsements.

Cricket
Cricket follows soccer/football closely and has become the second most popular sport globally, according to many sources. The game is played across various formats that feature limited and unlimited-over matches. Today, nearly 180 nations participate in local, national, and international cricket. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the governing body of nations and players representing the sport. England, South Africa, and Australia were the founding nations of the council that hosts all cricket formats played globally.

While the cricket phenomenon started long ago, today, India owns and represents one of the most valuable cricket franchises worth billions of dollars. The Indian Premier League, or IPL, brings together cricketers from different nations in a single team. According to Forbes, the average franchise value was only $67 million in 2009 after the first year of the league matches. The IPL has a current valuation of over $1 billion franchise. All this was achieved in under 12 years of the league being created.

Basketball
Basketball is one of our country’s most valued and celebrated sports, owing to the National Basketball Association (NBA). Interestingly, this national sport started as a winter activity for indoor entertainment back in 1891 by James Naismith. A game played in a local YMCA gym became one of the most valued sporting federations in the world. James Naismith also wrote the official rulebook of the game that, get this, did not have dribbling as an action to advance the ball across the court. Players would directly throw the ball to the next person along the court and make the basket to score points.

Today, the top NBA players manage to rake in over $45 million in just game salaries, which does not include sponsorship and brand endorsements. Several sporting brands associated with soccer and cricket are also the official brand sponsors of the NBA. There are 30 official teams on the NBA roster played across several locations.

Tennis
Tennis is one of the oldest played sports across the world, with origins dating back to the 12th century. Interestingly, they did not always use rackets, and players used to hit the ball over the net with the palm of their hand. It was not until the 16th century that rules officially changed to allow rackets. Even the yellow ball you see being used across all types of tennis courts was not made official until Wimbledon became a televised sport.

Today, tennis ranks among the top five sports played globally and is well-known for four yearly tournaments. Players across the world compete to participate in the Wimbledon (played on a grass court), the US Open (played on an acrylic hard-topped court), Australian Open (played on an acrylic hard-topped court), and the French Open (played on a clay court). A player who wins all four seasons back-to-back in a calendar year is awarded the Grand Slam title. Over 90% of top player earnings only come from endorsement, sponsorship deals, and athletic brand value. Roger Federer, the world’s number one tennis star, tops the list of highest-paid tennis players, earning $90 million between 2021-22; of this, only $700,000 was his official earnings from match fees.