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    Brands' innings with king Kohli likely to continue

    Synopsis

    Kohli fronts for close to 30 brands and his annual earnings from endorsements were estimated at Rs 178.77 crore in 2021. The labels include Puma sportswear, Hero two-wheelers, MRF tyres, Audi cars, fashion platform Myntra, American Tourister luggage, Vivo smartphones and Hyperice wellness. He also endorses and owns a stake in clothing and accessories brand Wrogn.

    virat-kohli--ptiPTI
    The resignation of Virat Kohli, India's highest paid brand endorser, as captain of the national Test cricket team is not expected to impact the number of brands he endorses and or what he charges in the near term, executives and experts said. Kohli's move, announced on Saturday, follows his departure as skipper in the T20 and one-day international formats.

    "It's our privilege at Puma to be in a long-term partnership with Virat. He leaves behind an outstanding legacy of captaincy; he is an exceptional performer as a leader and athlete," said Abhishek Ganguly, managing director, Puma India and Southeast Asia. The German sports brand has an ongoing deal with Kohli that was inked in 2017 for Rs 110 crore for a period of eight years.

    Kohli fronts for close to 30 brands and his annual earnings from endorsements were estimated at Rs 178.77 crore in 2021. The labels include Puma sportswear, Hero two-wheelers, MRF tyres, Audi cars, fashion platform Myntra, American Tourister luggage, Vivo smartphones and Hyperice wellness. He also endorses and owns a stake in clothing and accessories brand Wrogn.

    'Huge Social Media Following an Asset'
    "Brands look for form and till the time Kohli is active and performs on the field, brands will stay with him," social commentator Santosh Desai said, drawing a comparison with previous skipper MS Dhoni. "Dhoni remains visible across advertising even now, so will Kohli," he said. "Besides, there is no one in the cricket team as of now to match the stature Kohli has as a player."

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    A TAM Sports celebrity endorsement report based on IPL13 and IPL14, released in November last year, ranked Dhoni and Kohli as the top two celebrities in both tournaments. Dhoni was at No 1 and Kohli in the second slot.

    Executives in the sports marketing business said Kohli would continue to rein ahead of others in the brand endorsement space for another four-five years at least.

    Sports marketing company 27th Sports co-founder and chief executive Sangeet Shirodkar, who has worked on some endorsement deals for Kohli and previously for MS Dhoni, doesn't expect any decrease in Kohli's brand value. "Virat's personality is beyond cricket and his massive social media following is an asset," he said. "Today, brands value an ambassador more for their influence in the digital world than mere a tag of captaincy."

    Bunty Sajdeh, co-founder of Cornerstone Sport and Entertainment, the talent management agency that represents Kohli, declined to comment. Other leading brands that Kohli is associated with such as Myntra and Hyperice, didn't respond to queries.

    Some executives Differ
    Some other executives said his exit from captaincy will impact brand value and associations progressively. "Kohli stepping down will certainly impact both his endorsements and price progressively, if not immediately," said Sandeep Goyal, managing director of ad agency Rediffusion. "Historically, the lion's share of brand endorsements in Indian cricket has always gone to the captain. Either the number of brands Kohli endorses, or what he charges will reduce."

    Kohli is said to charge Rs 7.5 to Rs 10 crore a day for brand endorsements.

    According to the Hopper Instagram Richlist 2021, Kohli gets paid Rs 5 crore per sponsored post on Instagram. He has 179 million followers on Instagram and 46 million on Twitter. He has been India's most valuable celebrity for four consecutive years.

    A Duff & Phelps' celebrity brand valuation study estimated the cricketer's brand value in 2020 at $237.7 million, ranking him at No 1 in India, followed by actors Akshay Kumar at $118.9 million and Ranveer Singh at $102.9 million.

    The value is based on endorsement portfolios and the social media presence of individuals.



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