Following Sachin Tendulkar and M S Dhoni who had signed contracts with sports and talent management agencies, Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli has gone ahead and signed a Rs 110-crore endorsement eight-year long licensing deal with sports lifestyle brand Puma.
Kohli will work with the German outfit to launch a signature line of sports lifestyle products with a special logo and brand identity. A major part of the licensing deal estimated between Rs 12 to 14 crore annually is locked up in fixed payout.
The signing up with the sports lifestyle brand elevates the dashing cricketer to a new league altogether.
Now, Kohli falls in the group of Jamaicans sprinters Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell and footballers Thierry Henry and Oliver Giroud among others as a global ambassador for Puma. The eight year-long deal involves a fixed payment and royalty depending on the brand’s business performance.
Earlier, Tendulkar and Dhoni have been in the Rs 100-crore club by the way of a multi-year contract with sports and talent management agencies that in turn brought a number of brands for licensing deals.
At this juncture, it may be recalled that way back in 2013, Kohli had signed a Rs 10-crore per-annum, three-year deal with sports goods giant Adidas. But this ended when both parties decided not to renew the contract last December.
