Cricket is an astonishingly lucrative sport today. For context, top Indian cricketers like Virat Kohli have an enviable net worth north of $100 million. Of course, he is not the only guy loaded with dollars. Another Indian cricket legend, MS Dhoni, has pocketed over $30 million across his career.
Undoubtedly, cricket presents more than just wealth for athletes. Indian punters are also getting rich, staking on top bookmaker apps like Bet365. For example, a bet365 app download could unleash a range of betting markets on top cricket fixtures with remarkable odds and payouts.
That said, athletes remain the biggest earners in cricket. But have you wondered how all these athletes go home with all these hefty bags of money?
Is it only their teams that pay them? Definitely not. Indian cricket superstars have an enviably array of sponsors with this deals accouting for a substantial part of their wealth.
In this article, we will learn about some of these cricket stars with the best-paying sponsorship deals.
Table of Contents
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is one of the best cricket players from India. He is a right-arm medium bowler and a right-handed batsman in the top-order batter role. While being active by playing for two domestic teams and the Indian national cricket team, Virat Kohli has continued to show outstanding performance and playing abilities.
With exceptional career stats, Virat Kohli has won a list of awards, including the ICC ODI Player of the Year (2012, 2017, and 2018), the 2018 ICC Test Player of the Year, and the 2019 ICC Spirit of Cricket, among others. He has also been awarded many other national honors and non-sporting honors.
Apart from the honors and awards that Virat Kohli has, he is also known to be very lucrative with sponsorship deals. Virat Kohli has a long list of brands he fronts for. Some of them include Vivo smartphones, Hero two-wheelers, Puma sportswear, Hyperice wellness, Audi cars, fashion platform Myntra, MRF tyres, and American Tourister luggage. Virat Kohli is estimated to make over $21 million annually from endorsements.
Source: twitter.com
Steve Smith
Also called Smithy, the professional Australian cricketer, Steve Smith is one of the cricketers with the most lucrative sponsorship deals. He is also known for being one of the finest right-handed batsman and right-arm leg spin bowlers. Having played for over eight cricket teams and the Australian national cricket team, he has managed to set out an outstanding career record.
Speaking of outstanding records, Steve Smith has a trailer load of achievements and awards to his name. Some notable ones include being the fastest batsman to reach 7,000 and 8,000 runs in Tests, ICC Test Player of the Year (2015 and 2017), and Australian Test Player of the Year (2015 and 2018), among a well of others.
And when it comes to sponsorship deals, Steve Smith holds brand endorsements from a number of brands, including New Balance, Sanitarium, Fit Bit, Gillette, Weet Bix, Koala, and Commonwealth Bank. He is estimated to make over $300,000 annually from brand endorsements.
Source: espncricinfo.com
Rohit Sharma
Also recognized as one of the greatest opening batsmen, Rohit Sharma is known for his elegance, timing, and leadership skills. Starting his professional career in 2006, Rohit Sharma has played for three domestic cricket teams and currently holds captaincy in the Indian national cricket team.
Rohit Sharma has an amazing performance record and a list of sporting awards, including the 2019 ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year, 2011-2020 ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Decade, and 2011-2020 ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Decade, among others. He also holds a number of national honors and is selected among the 2022 five Wisden Cricketers of the Year.
Rohit Sharma is estimated to earn over $900,000 annually from many brand endorsements. Some of the brands he fronts include popular brands, such as CEAT, Maggi, Oppo, Adidas, Nissan, Lays, Glenmark, Dream 11, Rasna, IIFL Finance, Highlanders, Aristocrat, and Relispray.
David Warner
One of the best Australian cricketers there is, David Warner, is known for his left-handed aggressive batting style with an ability to switch hit. Having played for over six domestic cricket teams and the Australian national cricket team, David Warner has amassed outstanding career stats.
With an amazing performance comes tons of awards for David Warner. Throughout his past playtimes, David Warner has garnered a list of awards, including the 2016 Australian Test Player of the Year, 2012 Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year, and ICC Test Team of the Year (2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017), among others.
When it comes to endorsements part, David Warner is recognized as one of the cricket players with lucrative sponsorship deals. He is estimated to earn over $450,000 annually from endorsement deals from popular brands like DSC, KFC, Make-a-Wish Foundation, Toyota, ASICS, LG, and Channel Nine.
Source: indiatoday.in
MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni is known as one of the best batsmen and wicket-keepers of all time. Although having retired from the Indian national cricket team, MS Dhoni still shows amazing playing skills in the Indian Premier League, currently holding the captaincy position in the Chennai Super Kings.
Throughout his past games, MS Dhoni has garnered a list of achievements and awards to his name, with them split between national honors, sporting honors, and other honors and awards. Being one of the finest cricket in the Indian Premier League, MS Dhoni has bagged a lot of sponsorships from brands like Cars24, Indian Terrain, Indigo Paints, GoDaddy, Unacademy, Star Sports, RedBus, Colgate, Panerai, LivFast, among many others.
MS Dhoni is estimated to earn over $3 million from sponsorship deals.
Conclusion
It’s no doubt that cricketers make tons of money from sponsorship deals, whether playing in domestic leagues or in international matches. Either way, cricket players who show outstanding performance are mostly easily reached for sponsorship deals, just like the players who make this list.