The England and Wales Cricket Board has described the £520m windfall from The Hundred auction as “a seminal moment” that will protect cricket “for generations to come”.
Investors from around the world have poured lavish sums into the game in return for stakes in eight city-based teams which have existed for just four seasons.
An exclusivity period is now taking place, during which terms will be finalised. In total, the deals value The Hundred as a whole at more than £975m, a figure that would once have been inconceivable in domestic cricket.
The proceeds will be fed straight back into the country’s cricket network, with £50m set aside for recreational level and the rest split between the 18 first-class counties and the owners of Lord’s, Marylebone Cricket Club.
Counties who do not have a Hundred team will receive a larger slice, while the eight Hundred hosts were gifted a 51 per cent share in their teams, with only Yorkshire taking the decision to sell their entire stake in Northern Superchargers who are based at Headingley.
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Take a look back at the winning moment from The Hundred last summer, where London Spirit defeated Welsh Fire in the women’s final
ECB chair: Hundred investment protects cricket ‘for generations’
Reflecting on the potential impact of the investment, ECB chair Richard Thompson said: “We’ve reached a seminal moment for cricket in England and Wales.
“Four years after The Hundred was launched, we’ve now entered final discussions with eight strategic partners, each ready to invest in the competition’s eight teams and help us take the competition and English and Welsh cricket to a new level – for the benefit of the whole of our game.
“Each of these partners shares a passion for the competition’s success and cricket itself. They are global leaders in sport, technology, investment and commerce, aligned in our ambition to continue building The Hundred as a truly world-class sporting spectacle.
The Hundred 2024 winners, Oval Invincibles and London Spirit, celebrate their respective men’s and women’s final wins at Lord’s
“This means vital support for county cricket, growing the women’s game and inspiring even more children – and people of all ages – to pick up a bat and ball.
“This will also secure the funding that will go directly to the professional counties and recreational game, underpinning the fabric of our county game and helping futureproof cricket’s growth in England and Wales for generations to come.”
Who is investing in The Hundred?
Todd Boehly and Tom Brady are among those to have invested in the The Hundred ahead of the 2025 season
Sports team owners and billionaire businessmen are among the high-profile investors who have secured stakes in The Hundred ahead of the 2025 season.
Birmingham City owners Knighthead Capital Management – for whom NFL legend Tom Brady acts as a minority investor – succeeded in a £40m deal for the Edgbaston-based Birmingham Phoenix side.
An 11-strong consortium of tech billionaires are set to pay £145m for a 49 per cent stake in London Spirit, valuing the side who play at Lord’s as the most expensive team in the tournament at around £300m.
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Sky Sports Cricket Podcast’s Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain speak to Nikesh Arora, leader of the consortium that has invested in London Spirit
This bid is reported to have beaten off competition from Manchester United co-chair Avram Glazer’s Lancer Capital and a group affiliated to Chelsea chair Todd Boehly.
After unsuccessfully bidding for Spirit, Chelsea co-owner Boehly ultimately purchased a 49 per cent stake in Trent Rockets as his company Cain International & Ares Management, which he set up with British businessman Jonathan Goldstein, forked out close to £40m for the Trent Bridge-based outfit.
Owners of IPL franchises Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad also successfully secured stakes in The Hundred teams. Find out who, here.
What have the experts said? | ‘I can’t see anything but a clash at some point’
Michael Atherton on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast:
“These are incredible, irrational sums and it is hard to envisage how [these buyers and investors] will get that back in the near term – and that is the worry really.
“In order to get it back they may have to think about expanding The Hundred, playing more games, raising ticket prices. There is clearly a lot of uncertainty down the line.
“I can’t see anything but a clash at some point.”
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Ian Ward, Stuart Broad, Nasser Hussain and Eoin Morgan reflected on last year’s edition of The Hundred and what the future could look like for the tournament
Nasser Hussain on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast:
“Make no mistake, English cricket needs this money to survive. It is game-changing for some counties, it is going to save some counties and help some of the bigger counties who have debt.
“My underlying feeling is that it is good for English cricket but we need to be really switched on.
“The future, for me, is pretty dull if it is all about franchise cricket and people just follow the money. Cricket is about more than money, it is about caring and connection.”
Watch the 2025 edition of The Hundred live in full on Sky Sports from August 5-31. You can also stream no contract with NOW.
