Most expensive deal of IPL franchise: Rajasthan Royals sold for Rs 15 thousand crores, bought by American businessman

By Samira Vishwas On Mar 25, 2026

Rajasthan Royals Deal: A new history was made in the Indian Premier League. Rajasthan Royals has now become the first team to be sold for more than $1 billion. The consortium led by Qal Somani bought this franchise for about $ 1.63 billion (about Rs 15290 crore), which is considered to be the biggest deal in the history of IPL.

According to the report, the consortium has also received the support of American businessman Rob Walton and the Hemp family, who own a stake in the US National Football League team Detroit Lions. This deal has taken the valuation of IPL teams to a new level.

Rajasthan Royals sold for Rs 15 thousand crores
Earlier, Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG Group had bought Lucknow Super Giants for $940 million while Torrent Group picked up 67 per cent stake in Gujarat Titans for $575 million. In comparison to these deals, the sales of Rajasthan Royals proved to be much bigger.

The takeover will be completed after IPL 2026 ends
For the last 6 months, the current owners of the team were in talks to sell it. Now the deal has been signed and the takeover process will be completed after the end of the IPL 2026 season. Till then the current management will manage the team.

Kaal Somani already had stake in Rajasthan team
Qal Somani, a successful US-based entrepreneur, already held a minority stake in Rajasthan Royals. He has created many big companies in areas like education technology, data privacy, artificial intelligence and sports technology. He is the founder of companies like IntraEdge, Truyo and Academian and is also active in the field of sports investing.

Rajasthan was purchased for 67 million dollars in 2008

Rajasthan Royals was started in the first season of IPL in 2008. At that time, Emerging Media Ventures had bought it for only 67 million dollars, which was the cheapest franchise at that time, but today the same team is being sold for 1.63 billion dollars, showing the growing strength and popularity of IPL.

Meanwhile, the sale of Royal Challengers Bangalore is also in discussion. According to reports, RCB’s value could exceed $2 billion, which reflects the rapidly increasing value of the IPL business model.

It is clear from this deal that IPL has now become not just a cricket league but a global business brand. The price of the franchise is expected to increase further in the coming times, which will further strengthen the confidence of investors.