Endorsement fees of top Indian cricketers to rise despite WC final loss

Players could have doubled their endorsement values had India won the World Cup final, but despite the loss, top players will see a 50-60% rise in their endorsement values, an expert said

Despite India losing the Cricket World Cup final to Australia, leading Indian cricketers are likely to see a double-digit rise in their endorsement fees, The Economic Times (ET) reported, citing sports marketing companies that represent ace cricketers. These companies told the newspaper that the Indian team's domination in the World Cup would make the players even more popular. Cricketers can leverage their popularity to help brands in building connections with consumers.

Head of sponsorship sales and talent at Rise Worldwide, which manages top cricketers like Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah, among others told ET, "We don't have the World Cup tag, but the players have walked away as heroes." He added that the endorsement values of Indian cricketers are likely to increase 30-40 per cent because of their exceptional performance in the tournament.

How much do Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma charge for brand endorsements?

Citing market estimates, the ET report said that top cricketers like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma charge anywhere in the range of Rs 3.5 crore to Rs 7 crore per endorsement deal. For other players, the endorsement charges are between Rs 1 and 2 crore, the report added.

Sports marketing agency GroupM ESP data estimates say that the value of all sports endorsement deals in the country rose by 20 per cent year-on-year to reach Rs 749 crore in 2022. Of this, cricket alone accounted for Rs 640 crore or 85 per cent in value, according to the ET report.

Endorsement value of performers to go up

Managing Director of valuation advisory services at Kroll, a finance and risk advisory company, Aviral Jain told the newspaper that the endorsement values of players who performed well, like Virat Kohli and Mohammad Shami, in the tournament will go up.

The rise in endorsement values will see individual players benefitting rather than the whole team. Players could have doubled their endorsement values had India won the World Cup final, but despite the loss, top players will see a 50-60 per cent rise in their endorsement values, Jain added.