Top 5 leagues in India in terms of prize money

India has embarked on a sporting revolution of sorts in recent times which can rightly be attributed to the plethora of leagues that have been introduced in different sports.

Today, we have almost 15 annual leagues, duly recognised by the national and international sports associations and bodies, which take place around the year whether it is cricket, football, kabaddi, badminton, wrestling or table tennis.

In terms of economics, the sports industry is contributing almost 1.2% to the national GDP.

Sportskeeda here looks at 5 of the top leagues in India which give away the big bucks, or have the highest prize money!

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#1: Indian Premier League

With its 2017 edition, the IPL completed a decade of cricket and entertainment, a milestone in itself. The league is the biggest one across the globe.

As such, in a cricket crazy country like ours, it generates more revenue than any other sports league in the nation and thus also accounts for the highest amount of prize money.

In 2017, the winners, Mumbai Indian took home 15 crores while the runners-up Rising Pune Supergiant who lost just by one run got 10 crores. Seven other individual awards were presented for the highest runs, highest wickets, fastest fifty, etc; which accounted for a prize of Rs 10 lakh each.

While each of the remaining 6 franchises also received a certain amount of prize money according to their position on the points table at the end of the season.

#2: Indian Super League

Kolkata won the inaugural ISL and the latest edition as well

Backed by IMG Reliance, ISL has been a huge success amongst the domestic fans of the sport, especially in the states of Kerela, Goa, Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Last year, in the 2016 edition, winners Atletico de Kolkata pocketed 8 crores as prize money after defeating Kerela Blasters in the final, who received 4 crores. The other two semi-finalists, FC Goa and Chennayin FC got richer by Rs 1.5 crores each.

Besides these, there were other individual rewards with prize money for each of them in the categories of; Player of the Tournament, Best Goalkeeper, Emerging Player and Hero of the League.

#3: Pro Kabaddi League

Patna Pirates are the defending champions for Pro Kabaddi Season 5

India's homegrown sport has been a success story which cannot be compared to the other leagues in general solely due to the reason that no one imagined a desi sport could establish itself on a global scale in a matter of three years.

The fifth instalment of the league is all set to be staged from the 28th of July and it has already marked its entry in the history books as the biggest league in India in terms of the number of teams, 12 to be particular.

In light of this, the prize money at stake is a consolidated sum of Rs 8 crores, with the winners taking home 3 crores. The runners-up will be awarded 1.8 crores while the team that finishes in the third place will pocket 1.2 crores.

As for the individual awards, the Most Valuable Player will get a reward of 15 lakhs while the Best Raider and Defender will be given 10 lakhs each.

#4: Hockey India League

Kalinga Lancers overcame Dabang Mumbai in the final encounter of HIL 2017

One of the most exciting league in the world of hockey takes places in our country, in the form of Hockey India League, featuring the best crop of Indian players who go about their business alongside the best recruits from across the world.

The fifth edition of the Coal India HIL was staged earlier this year where the Kalinga Lancers beat Dabang Mumbai in the penultimate encounter and took home a prize money of Rs 2.50 crores while Mumbai had to suffice themselves with a reward of 1.75 crores.

The team with the third place finish bagged 75 lakhs while a host of individual rewards were also presented by the organisers. These included Player of the Tournament (50 lakhs) and Upcoming Player, Player who scored Maximum Goals each of whom pocketed 20 lakhs.

#5: Premier Badminton League

Chennai Smashers won the PBL 2017 title

The domestic league of badminton witnessed some of the finest players in action from all across the globe, taking the battle across to one-other in a successful tournament which was a six-team affair.

Eventually, it was the Chennai Smashers powered by Olympic medallist PV Sindhu who emerged as the champions after defeating the Mumbai Rockets in the finals. They eventually took home a huge prize money of 3 crores while the runners-up Mumbai were rewarded with 1.5 crores for their effort.

The total purse was said to be of 6 crores which also comprised of the prize money for the other top-placed teams and the individual awards.