The Biggest Sports Leagues Globally are no longer defined only by trophies and championships. In 2025, scale matters more than ever. Revenue streams have expanded beyond ticket sales into media rights, sponsorships, and global licensing. At the same time, viewership patterns reveal which leagues truly command global attention.

Some leagues generate enormous income despite serving mostly regional audiences. Others dominate international screens but monetize differently. Understanding this difference is essential when analyzing modern sports economics. This is why the Biggest Sports Leagues Globally must be evaluated using both financial and audience-based metrics.

This article examines verified revenue figures alongside global viewership signals. By the end, readers will understand how the global sports industry revenue by league compares to actual audience reach. This dual perspective is critical in 2025.

How Global Sports League Rankings Are Measured in 2025

Before looking at rankings, one clarification matters. League revenue figures come from financial reporting.
These numbers show how money flows through the global sports industry revenue by league.

Viewership Is More Complex

There is no single dataset that shows full-season viewership for every league worldwide. So this article uses sports league viewership statistics from major global events as a transparent proxy:

• Super Bowl → NFL
• World Series → MLB
• NBA Finals → NBA
• Winter Games → ice hockey visibility (NHL context)

This approach is commonly used in global sports league rankings when league-wide data is unavailable.

Biggest Sports Leagues Globally – By Revenue (2025)

This section answers one question:

Which are the highest revenue sports leagues in the world? Let’s take a look below and the comparison was made from the 2024 fiscal year. 

1. National Football League (NFL)

According to The Sports Pro, it’s revenue is over $23 billion

The NFL is the financial benchmark. It benefits from:

1. 32 teams
2. Massive broadcast deals
3. The most expensive advertising inventory in sports

Even without global dominance, the NFL leads sports league revenue statistics 2025.

2. Major League Baseball (MLB)

Data from SP global shows that MLB reported $12.1 billion in revenue for the 2024 fiscal year.

Baseball appears slow. Its revenue growth is not.

MLB benefits from:

• 162 regular-season games
• Nearly 70 million annual attendees
• One of the longest advertising calendars in sports

This structure explains MLB’s position among the highest revenue sports leagues.

3. National Basketball Association (NBA)

According to Sports Value, “NBA Teams Surpassed US$ 11.3 Billion in Revenue in 2024.”

Sportico reported that The National Basketball Association (NBA) is predicted to earn US$14.3 billion in revenue from the 2025/26 season.

The NBA is built for global scale. Its advantages include:

• International superstars
• Strong overseas markets
• Massive digital and social reach

These factors keep the NBA firmly among the Biggest Sports Leagues Globally.

4. English Premier League (EPL)

According to Sentinel Sports Group, EPL revenues exceed £6bn in the 2024-25 season.  

The EPL is the richest domestic football league in the world. Its power comes from:

1. billions of dollars from the global broadcast deals
2. Clubs with worldwide fanbases
3. Strong international licensing

This makes the EPL a cornerstone of global sports industry revenue by league.

5. Bundesliga

According to DFL, “Professional football generates €5.87 billion in revenue in 2024.”

Germany’s league shows that:

• Low ticket prices
• Strong youth development
• Financial discipline

Can still generate billions.

6. La Liga

Data from La Liga Shows that Standardized total revenue reached €5.049 billion in 2024.

La Liga remains globally relevant. Its value continues to come from:

1. Real Madrid
2. FC Barcelona
3. Strong international licensing

This keeps it among the Biggest Sports Leagues Globally by revenue.

7. National Hockey League (NHL)

As per Business Wire, “In 2024 season, annual revenue rose to an estimated US$6.2 billion.” Or ~ £4.47 Billion as per the current market conversion where the exchange rate is approximately £1 = $1.34. 

According to NHL Media, “The NHL’s revenue for the 2023-24 season reached a record high, with projections for the 2024-25 season set to exceed $6.6 billion.”

Hockey remains regionally concentrated. But NHL fans:

1. Spend heavily
2. Pay premium ticket prices
3. Support high-value broadcast deals

That keeps the league competitive in sports league revenue statistics 2025.

8. Serie A: 

According to Deloitte, Serie A clubs generated €2.9 billion of revenue in 2024.  Serie A remains one of Europe’s core football revenue engines. It benefits from:

• Big-market clubs and global fanbases (Juventus, Inter, Milan, Napoli, Roma)
• A strong domestic media-rights base
• International broadcasting demand tied to “Big Five” league status and European competition visibility

Top 8 Biggest Sports Leagues Globally – By Viewership (2025)

This ranking answers a different question.

Not:

• Who makes the most money?

But:

• Who captures the most global attention? 

This section ranks the Biggest sports leagues globally by the total number of audiences that has watched the league in the stadiums in a season.

1. Major League Baseball (MLB)

Baseball’s defining moment still draws massive audiences. MLB is among the biggest sports leagues globally in terms of audience. 

Taking from the data of ESPN, AWISEE calculated the total number of audience in 2025 to be 71,352,984- about 71.35 million in 2025.

Its postseason still commands serious attention across:

• The U.S.
• Japan
• Canada

2. National Football League (NFL)

American football is geographically concentrated. But its peak attention is unmatched domestically. 

Taking from the data of ESPN, AWISEE calculated the total number of audience in 2025 to be 37,295,833 or, ~ 37.30 million in 2025.

This single event:

1. Outperforms most global finals
2. Drives record advertising prices
3. Explains the NFL’s revenue dominance

3. National Hockey League (NHL)

Hockey remains regional. But ice hockey benefits from inclusion in global events. 

Sports Business Journal noted that The NHL drew a record 23.01 million fans to its games during the 2024-25 season. While not NHL-specific, this signals:

• Global exposure
• Periodic worldwide attention
• Continued relevance of Hockey at the international level

4. National Basketball Association (NBA)

Basketball’s strength lies in cultural influence. But its championship viewership shows its ceiling.

This reflects:

1. Strong engagement
2. Younger audiences
3. High social amplification, even if TV numbers are lower

Taking from the data of ESPN, AWISEE calculated the total number of audience in 2025 to be 22,356,500 — about 22.36 million.

5. English Premier League (EPL)

Football dominates global attention. The EPL benefits from:

• Worldwide broadcasting
• Massive international fanbases
• Constant exposure across continents

According to Winsportsonline, The total number of spectators reached 15.4 million in season 2024/2025.

6. Bundesliga

German football follows closely. While the Bundesliga is more locally rooted, it still taps into:

• Champions League exposure
• Strong European broadcasting reach

DFL noted that in 2024-25 season, 11,653,239 tickets were sold. So, Bundesliga also had more than 11M audiences attending football matches.

7. La Liga

La Liga shares the same global football ecosystem. Its biggest clubs consistently appear in the Champions League spotlight, benefiting from:

1. International broadcasting
2. Global fan loyalty
3. Historic rivalries

According to FCBusinessUK, LALIGA Clubs Attracted 11,011,987 audiences; in short, more than 11 Million Fans Last Season.

8. Serie A

Italian football is built on historic clubs, intense derby culture, and week-to-week matchday demand that stays strong even when the title race changes. Serie A’s attendance strength is supported by:

• Iconic clubs and derby fixtures (Milan, Rome, Turin)
• Deep local matchday culture and rivalry intensity
• Champions League visibility that sustains international relevance

Data collected from Transfer Market shows that the total audience was 5.67 million in 2025.

Revenue vs Viewership: What the Rankings Reveal

According to AWISEE, “Global sports media rights value at $56.61 billion in 2025.” Global sports industry revenue by league does not always match global audience size. Here is the key insight.

Revenue Winners

• NFL
• MLB
• NBA

These leagues monetize:

1. Scarcity
2. Premium advertising
3. High spending per fan

Viewership Winners

• European football leagues
• Cricket ecosystem
• Global tournaments

These sports dominate:

1. Population reach
2. International broadcasting
3. Cultural penetration

What Viewership Rankings Reveal

• Football dominates global reach
• Cricket delivers unmatched population scale
• U.S. leagues excel at monetizing concentrated audiences

This explains why average attendance by sports league and revenue do not always align with global attention.

Takeaways for 2025

The Biggest Sports Leagues Globally fall into three categories:

• Money machines (NFL, MLB)
• Attention giants (EPL, La Liga, IPL)
• Hybrid models (NBA, EPL)

In 2025:

1. Revenue follows structure
2. Viewership follows culture
3. The most powerful leagues understand both