Brand Sachin, Dhoni on a new high

The two stars’ endorsement rates may go up 40-50 per cent.

When beverage major Coca Cola signed on cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar early this month, the company paved the way for a dramatic play-off with India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who is heading rival Pepsico India’s brand endorsement projects.

Coke, it is understood, is paying Tendulkar Rs 20 crore for a three-year deal. That’s more than what Dhoni is getting from Pepsico and is quite a turnaround for the little master who had earlier seen the number of endorsements dipping over the last few years. “This is set to see a correction now with Tendulkar playing almost at his best,” says Santosh Desai, Future Brands CEO.

The brand Sachin versus Dhoni battle also took a new turn when reports came in that the former had turned down an offer to endorse a leading liquor brand which would have been the highest-paid deal for an Indian sportsman. And these happened just days after Dhoni signed a Rs 26 crore endorsement contract with Vijay Mallya’s UB Group, making him the highest paid sportsperson for a single endorsement deal in the country.

Brand experts, however, say the so-called brand battle between the two are just sideshows in a year when big ticket sporting properties such as the ICC World Cup 2011 and the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League are going to jack up the endorsement fees for both.

Indranil Blah, vice president, Kwan Entertainment which is into sports management, says, “While the number of brands that Tendulkar and Dhoni endorse is not expected to increase sharply as compared to last year, their rates may go up by 40-50 per cent.” According to industry estimates, both Tendulkar and Dhoni get paid as much as Rs 5 crore per endorsement, which is set to rise to over Rs 7 crore this year.

Tendulkar is endorsing 15 brands at present. He is the face of Castrol products in the country and promotes brands such as Castrol Power1, Activ and GTX. He also endorses appliances major Toshiba, ITC’s Sunfeast, Boost, Canon, Royal Bank of Scotland, Reynolds, Jaypee Cements, Aviva Life Insurance, Adidas, luxury Swiss watch Audemars Piguet and Pune-based Amit Housing Enterprises among others.

Industry sources estimate the size of sports endorsement market to be valued at around Rs 200 crore, which can grow by 20 per cent due to the cricket packed season. Dhoni, for instance, renegotiated his existing deal with Maxx Mobiles for seven years for Rs 29 crore which was initially valued at Rs 10 crore.

Dhoni’s associations are managed by Rhiti Sports Management (RSM). Arun Pandey, president RSM, said, “Dhoni at present endorses 24 brands. There is a lot of interest from companies to have in on board.” Dhoni is also the brand ambassador for Fashion Bazaar, Sonata, Amrapali Housing amongst others.