World Cup 2023: Here's how the loss in the finals may affect Indian cricketers' endorsement fees

World Cup 2023: Sportspersons endorsing a product is a common sight. Lakhs and crores are poured into booking a sportsperson and executing the advertisement. Getting a cricketer to endorse products means cutting a big cheaque as Cricket cuts across audiences.

However, experts are divided over how the loss in the world cup final will impact the brand value of Indian cricketers.

Rise in endorsement payment

The Economic Times has quoted sports marketing companies and has said that despite the loss in World Cup ODI Finals, leading Indian cricketers are likely to see a double-digit rise in their endorsement fees. This as the dominance of Indian Cricketers throughout the tournament has made them even more popular and hence can leverage their popularity to help brands in building connections with consumers.

Also Read: World Cup 2023: Big boost to economy with packed stadiums and rise in viewership

ET also quoted Head of sponsorship sales and talent at Rise Worldwide, which manages top cricketers like Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah, among others who said that the fees may see a 30-40% increase.

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

The rise in endorsement will also see individual players benefitting rather than the whole team.

Factors affecting Endorsement fees

Meanwhile, Business Today quoted experts and said that if India had won the tournament, the payment to the cricketers for endorsement would have zoomed by at least 20%. Alchemist Marketing Solutions MD, Manish Porwal told Business Today that this issue is about loss of profit and that there will not be drop in the current value.

“The issue is really about a loss of profit. There will not be any drop in current value, but we are not going to see a spike in endorsement fee either,” Porwal told Business Today.

Harish Bijoor, brand domain specialist and owner Harish Bijoor Consults Inc told Business Today, a brand manager will need to closely allocate his budget. “In India, nothing comes close to cricket and films when it comes to big monies spent on endorsements. It is really a case of budgets moving from one to the other,” he told the publication.

By this, a below than expected performance by the cricketers would see a tilt towards the film stars. “Marketers will now start to allocate a larger chunk of their budgets to a SRK or any large star in the south. Again, if a star’s film does not work, it will be back to cricket”, Bijoor said.

He also mentioned that there will be a bit of realignment on how the cricketers are paid. For instance now, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli charge Rs 4 crore to over Rs 7 crore for each endorsement. Now newer stars like Siraj, Shreyas and Kuldeep may also be wooed by brands.

Meanwhile, Salil Vaidya, marketing consultant and founder, Korero Communications told Business Today that the overall marketing spend on cricket will continue to increase.

“While a world cup win would have seen a sharp increase in the fee, the consistent performance of the team has won over cricket-loving India and, in fact, the loss in the final will give brands an opportunity to exploit the human side of the players to weave stories that will play on consumer sentiments", Vaidya told Business Today