- Overall, spending on sports celebrity endorsements increased by 20% by ₹124 crore to ₹749 crore in 2022, according to GroupM ESP Sporting Nation Report 2023.
- About 85% of the total endorsement value which is ₹640 crore went to cricketers and ₹109 crore went to other sports.
- A total of 505
approval of the brand deals took place, of which 381 were deals with cricketers.
It is said that Indian cricketers are benefiting from the influence that comes from the popularity of cricket – which is more of a religion in the country. Indian cricketers apparently not only earn their fair share of brand endorsements but are also among sports personalities who attract big endorsements.
Overall, spending on sports celebrity endorsements has increased 20% by ₹124 crore to ₹749 crore in 2022 from ₹625 crore in the previous year, says GroupM ESP Sporting Nation Report 2023.
About 85% of the total endorsement value of ₹749 crore, which is ₹640 crore, went to cricketers. The remaining ₹109 crore went to other sports.
A total of 505 brand endorsement deals took place, of which 381 were deals with cricketers.
The top athletes in terms of brand recommendation for sports celebrities are
In fact, the average deal value involving cricketers is 1.8 times that of emerging sports athletes.
Virat Kohli continues to top brand recommendations with 30 brands
From brand ambassador to ethnic clothing brand Manyavar, wearables brands Noise, e-commerce platform Myntra and several others, Virat Kohli would dominate the brand endorsement space.
“Speaking of specific individuals in team sports, in recent years Virat Kohli has dominated the brand endorsement space in Indian sports and built a substantial lead over the others in terms of revenue,” said GroupM ESP Sporting Nation Report 2023.
Former captain of the Indian cricket team MS Dhoni is another on the list who earns a huge amount from brand advertising, followed by Rohit Sharma. Apparently all three Indian cricketers have 30 marks each.
The report says that other Team India stars like Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan are also among the big scorers in the endorsement space, be it in total revenue, or also in terms of new brand acquisition .
New to the brand endorsement field are cricketers like Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer.
“Cricketers with a more recent rise to world stardom such as Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer can be considered as the new favorites of brands and are expected to score quickly in the near future,” said he. the report.
While the Indian women’s team has progressed in leaps and bounds in recent years, female cricketers such as Harmanpreet Kaur, Mithali Raj and Smriti Mandhana are also getting brand endorsements.
With the Women’s Premier League rolling out from 2023, these female players are expected to step up the pace in the endorsement arena.
Share of other emerging sports in celebrity endorsement is gradually increasing
Other emerging sports professionals are gradually picking up pace in brand endorsement.
With the rise in popularity of other sports including Kho Kho, Kabaddi, Hockey and others, cricket’s share of sports celebrity endorsement has fallen to 85% by 2022 from 87% last year.
While other emerging sports are finding new audiences, the sports personalities from these segments are also finding brand takers. Olympic javelin champion Neeraj Chopra tops the list of athletes from other emerging sports who have a massive following, and brands in his kitty.
With 12 marks under his belt, Chopra had the longest throw among non-cricketers. Badminton player PV Sindhu has 11 brands in her portfolio.
Apart from cricket competitions, as India hosted several other tournaments such as Indian Super League, Pro Kabaddi, the Commonwealth Games, Prime Volleyball League and Ultimate KhoKho and others have also attracted more attention to other sports.
