Neeraj Chopra following Virat Kohli's footsteps? Tokyo 2020's golden boy hikes endorsement fees by 1000%
Neeraj Chopra almost at par with Virat Kohli in terms of endorsement fee
Neeraj Chopra made heads turn by securing gold in the men's javelin throw final in Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The 23-year-old earned India its first-ever Olympic medal in athletics and has become the darling of the nation ever since. On his return from Tokyo, the whole nation welcomed him with open arms, with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) felicitating him and all the other medal-winners.
Neeraj's stature is rising with each passing day. The youngster, who was earlier making only 15-25 lakhs per endorsement on an annual basis before Tokyo 2020, is now reportedly in talks to sign new deals which will be worth 10 times that money.
For the unversed, Team India captain and superstar Virat Kohl is presently the only sportsperson in the nation to be charging a fee in the range of INR 1-5 crores. Thus, Neeraj is also set to come in the same bracket, being only slightly lower than the 32-year-old Kohli. This hike, however, will place him above some star cricketers such as Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, etc. Given how cricket remains a top sport in the country, the javelin thrower is surely making amends and promoting the sport single-handedly courtesy his meteoric rise.
According toEconomic Times, JSW Sports, who manage Neeraj, are in talks for five or six deals with luxury auto and apparel brands. If all goes well, the deal can be finalised on dotted lines in the next few weeks. Not only this, but the deals Neeraj has with existing brands, such as Nike, sports drink Gatorade, ExxonMobil and MuscleBlaze sports supplements, are also set to be revised at a inflated price.
“These are multi-year deals which will run up to the Paris Olympics,” Mustafa Ghouse, chief executive of JSW Sports, told Economic Times.“While we have requests from close to 80 brands, Neeraj has a limited number of free days between training camps in India and abroad over the next 12-14 months, so we have to be selective about signing on brands.”