Virat Kohli, India’s cricket captain in all formats of the game, has upped his endorsement fee for advertising and brand promotion to Rs 5 crore per day for new clients, it has emerged as per a report. This puts Kohli ahead of other celebrities in the country and at par with celebrities across the world.
His previous fee varied between the bracket of Rs. 2.2 crore to Rs. 4 crore a day but that has seen an increase owing to his brand value and that of the brands he endorses, says a report in the Economic Times. The increase also comes at a time when Kohli and his team negotiate a deal with Pepsi Co. for an extension but that has been stalled owing to the health concerns associated with colas. The deal also clashes with Kohli’s personal brand and mantra of health and fitness.
The Rs 5 crore a day quoted by Kohli’s team for the India skipper is more than what MS Dhoni charged in his heyday and is more than that of Bollywood stars Ranveer Singh and Ranbir Kapoor.
“Virat is contracted with Pepsi until April 30. We are currently negotiating a contract extension with the Pepsi-Co team,” said Cornerstone Sport CEO Bunty Sajdeh said in an email. “Pepsi has been one of our longest and most fruitful associations until now and hopefully we will collaborate with them for years to come.” Cornerstone Sport is the agency that represents Kohli.
During a day of activity for celebrities, brands could ask the person in charge to appear for commercials, at events, interact with fans, media, or employees. So four days a year, which is normally the contractual period, Kohli would take home a handsome Rs. 20 crore.
PepsiCo had previously been in association with MS Dhoni for 11 years and that deal came to an end last summer. The former India captain was reported to have been charging Rs 3-3.5 crore a day.
Just last month, Kohli became the first Indian sportsperson to sign an eight-year, Rs 110-crore endorsement deal with Puma to put him alongside Usain Bolt in richie-rich for the German brand. He also promotes Audi cars, MRF tyres, Tissot watches, Gionee phones, Boost milk drink, Colgate toothpaste and Vicks lozenges, at a total of 18 brands while investing in gym Chisel, tech startup Sports Convo, fashion label Wrogn and Nazara Technologies for online cricket gaming.
An October 2016 report had valued Kohli’s brand value at $92 million, something that would have easily skyrocketed owing to his impressive form and donning the captain’s armband.
Due to cricket’s limited entry in Europe and North America, the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo earned $32 million last year, as per a Forbes annual survey. Lionel Messi sits right after him on $28 million.
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