With Rs 70 crores a year minimum guarantee promised in a record endorsement deal recently signed for the next three years, Team India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is set to increase the earnings gap between himself and Sachin Tendulkar.
Such deals will also propel Dhoni to becoming the world’s richest cricketer. In signing the new deal, Dhoni beats Sachin’s record in terms of endorsement income as the Little Master’s last deal with sports marketing firm Iconix was worth Rs 180 crores over three years.
Dhoni is reported to have earned Rs 36 crores from endorsements in 2009, which dwarfed his estimated earnings from the game that were Rs 9 crores, according to Forbes magazine. The 4:1 ratio from non-cricket income versus earnings from cricket is par for cricketers in great demand in the world of advertising.
However, he has to earn at least $30 million a year to crack the list of the world’s 20 richest sportpersons.
In the world beyond cricket, Dhoni will now be represented by a joint venture between Rhiti Sports Management, run by former first class cricketer Arun Pandey, and Mindscapes ad agency. The agreement cover all of Dhoni’s endorsements from brands and digital rights, plus his presence in the expanding world of social networking sites. Mindscapes had already been managing Dhoni’s endorsements, but not everything else.