With deals worth Rs 17cr a year, Kohli beats Dhoni and Sachin in endorsements
India's hottest young cricketer Virat Kohli is setting the world of brand endorsements alight. The Indian captain-in-the-making, whose exploits on the field, combined with his youth, good looks and never-say-die attitude, makes him a winner off the field too, has inked a Rs 10-crore per annum deal with German sports goods giant Adidas.
The three-year contract, perhaps the most lucrative to be signed by an Indian sports star, will see the swashbuckling right-hand batsman endorsing the brand's apparel and shoes.
The Delhi lad has also struck a Rs 6.5 crore a year deal with a tyre brand that had master batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Waugh as its ambassadors, a person familiar with the development revealed.
The two deals will see Kohli topping the likes of Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Tendulkar in terms of annual earnings per brand endorsement.
Kohli, who turns 25 later this year, pocketed around Rs 40 crore from endorsements last year, but that sum may swell up substantially with these two deals in his kit bag. Currently, he lends his face to as many as 13 brands, including Pepsi, Toyota and Cinthol deodorants.
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