How Much Do Cricketers Charge for Brand Endorsements?

Discover the brand endorsement fees of India's top cricketers and how companies invest in sports personalities to reach millions of engaged fans. Learn what influences cricketer pricing and why brands continue to rely on cricket stars to strengthen credibility, awareness, and consumer trust.

Cricketers are some of the most valuable faces in Indian advertising. Hansa Research’s Brand Endorser Report 2024 placed Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar ahead of Bollywood stars, and said brands spent almost ₹50 billion on celebrity endorsements in 2023. Kroll’s Celebrity Brand Valuation 2024 also estimated the top 25 Indian celebrities together at $2 billion, with Kohli alone at $231.1 million.

That is why there is no single answer to the question “how much do cricketers charge?” The real fee depends on the player’s star power, the format of the campaign, how long the brand wants usage rights, and whether the deal is a one-off appearance or a long-term ambassador contract. In this market, the headline number is only the starting point.

Why cricketers command such high fees

Cricket still dominates the endorsement economy

India’s sports endorsement market is heavily cricket-led. A recent WPP Media report said the sports economy crossed $2 billion in 2025, with cricket accounting for 87% of the market, or ₹1,178 crore. That concentration of money is one of the biggest reasons top cricketers can charge premium rates compared with most other athletes.

Brand value matters as much as match performance

Modern endorsement pricing is not built only on runs and wickets. Kroll’s valuation model looks at endorsement portfolios and social media presence, which is why a player with a strong public image, broad audience reach and long-term recall can stay expensive even after a dip in on-field form. That is also why retired players such as Dhoni and Tendulkar remain strong commercial names.

How much do different cricketers charge?

1. Emerging and rising cricketers

At the lower end of the premium cricket market, the numbers are still strong. In 2025, Shreyas Iyer was reported to charge about ₹21.7 lakh for an Instagram story, ₹32.6 lakh for a post and ₹43.5 lakh for a reel, with his broader endorsement fees estimated in the ₹20–45 lakh range. ET Brand Equity also said Shubman Gill’s endorsement value was estimated at about ₹4 crore per deal. 

2. Established national stars

Once a cricketer becomes a household name across India, the fee jumps sharply. Exchange4media reported in 2024 that Rohit Sharma was charging upwards of ₹3–5 crore per endorsement deal. That is the kind of pricing brands pay when they want trust, familiarity and national reach in one package.

3. Top-tier icons

Virat Kohli sits at the top end of the market. Exchange4media reported that he signed an eight-year ₹110 crore Puma deal in 2017, while other reports said his MRF bat sponsorship was worth over ₹100 crore for eight years. Kroll’s latest brand valuation placed him at $231.1 million, and recent reporting has put his sponsored Instagram post rate in the ₹11–14 crore range.

4. Veteran legends who still hold premium value

MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar remain highly bankable even after retirement. Kroll’s 2024 ranking placed Dhoni at $102.9 million, and ET reported in 2025 that Tendulkar had crossed the $100 million brand-value mark and was still adding partnerships nearly a decade after retirement. Their value comes from trust, nostalgia and a rare kind of cross-generational recall.

What the fee usually includes

The visible price is not the full price

A cricketer’s fee is usually only one part of the total campaign cost. Brands also pay for concept development, filming or photography, edit revisions, platform-specific versions, usage rights and exclusivity. A one-day shoot, a social-only collaboration and a multi-year ambassador contract all sit in completely different budget buckets. That is why two deals with the same cricketer can have very different price tags.

Long-term associations cost far more

The biggest money is usually in multi-year rights, not one-off appearances. Kohli’s Puma and MRF examples show how a long-term association can move into nine-figure territory. These contracts are attractive to brands because they buy continuity, consistency and repeated visibility over time, not just a single campaign burst.

A practical cost breakdown for brands

Budget tier: rising names

For newer but promising players, brands may spend in the low-lakh to low-crore range, especially for digital-first work. The Shreyas Iyer numbers show what a strong young player can command for short-form social deliverables, while Gill’s reported per-deal value shows how fast a breakout star can move into the crore bracket.

Mid-premium tier: established stars

This is where a name like Rohit Sharma sits. A ₹3–5 crore endorsement fee is not just for the face in the ad; it is for credibility, scale and the ability to move a campaign across TV, digital and retail without much explanation.

Elite tier: global cricket icons

At the top end, you are no longer buying just endorsement value. You are buying a cultural asset. Kohli’s public deal history and Kroll’s brand valuation make it clear that the biggest cricket names can sit in a completely separate financial bracket, with annual brand earnings and long-term associations that dwarf regular campaign budgets.

Conclusion

The simplest way to think about cricket endorsement pricing is this: a strong national player can cost a few crores, a rising star can sit in the lakh-to-low-crore range, and a global icon can push deals into multi-year, multi-crore or even nine-figure territory. The exact number depends on the rights, the category and the campaign length, but the trend is clear: in India, cricketers are still among the most expensive and most effective brand faces in the market.