New Delhi: The India team may have fallen short in the recently-concluded ODI World Cup 2023 final against Australia in Ahmedabad on Sunday but a rise in paycheque awaits the cricketers considering the way they fared in the whole tournament leading to the summit clash. The Men in Blue have been dominant in all three departments of the game throughout the World Cup with the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and others performing consistently.
Cricket in India is considered nothing short of a religion and these cricketers’ popularity both on and off the field, helps the sports marketing brands bridge the gap with customers and improve visibility. According to an Economic Times report, the Indian cricketers are expected to get a 30-40 % rise in their endorsement value.
“We do not have the World Cup tag, but the players have walked away as heroes. I expect the endorsement value of the Indian cricketers to increase by 30-40 per cent because brands will continue to look at them for the way they have performed,” a Rise Worldwide spokesperson, that manages Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, was quoted as saying to ET.
We congratulate our talents on being announced in the squad for ODI World Cup 2023 and wish them all the very best #RiseAsOne @ImRo45 @hardikpandya7 @Jaspritbumrah93 @surya_14kumar @ShreyasIyer15 @ishankishan51 pic.twitter.com/N0KmAibUDl
— RISE Worldwide (@R1SEWorldwide) September 5, 2023
While Kohli finished as the highest run-getter with 765 runs including three hundreds, Mohammed Shami edged Australia’s Adam Zampa to finish on top of wicket-taking charts with 24 scalps. Rohit, himself, became the highest-scoring skipper in a single edition of the World Cup with 597 runs.
The report claimed top stars like Kohli and Rohit charge in between of Rs 3.5 crore to Rs 7 crore for a single endorseent deal while others take between Rs 1 and Rs 2 crores. The report also quoted sports marketing agency, GroupM ESP, stating all sports endorsement deals increased by 20 per cent year on year to a staggering Rs 749 crore in 2022. The cricketers accounted 85 per cent of the total amount.
Going by the trends, two key aspects will come up as far as endorsement deals are concerned. For the upcoming deals, brands will look to tie up with cricketers for a longer period as that will benefit them business wise. Secondly, the status of the players will play a big role in marketing campaigns by the companies tying up with them.
However, some brand experts feel, India’s loss in the World Cup final will have adverse effect on the endorsement deals as brands will not give big hikes. “If India had won the World Cup, I would have expected an inflation of 25-30 per cent in endorsement fees of all cricketers,” ET quopted brand expert Haroon Bijoor.
