“It is a huge decision which cannot be made unless you carry out thorough research and identify yourself with the brand’s values, offerings and proposition,” the former India cricket captain told ET in an email interview. “Riding on this trend has yielded good results for many brands – it is definitely very exciting, but we will have to wait and see how this trend fares.”
Kohli signed his latest endorsement deal with French eyewear and prescription lens brand Essilor last fortnight, for a two-year association.
The cricketer is one of the highest-paid endorsers.
The past quarter has seen over a dozen deals involving stars such as Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt, Sourav Ganguly, Parineeti Chopra, Katrina Kaif and Sanjay Dutt acquiring minority stakes in mid-sized and emerging startups as well as direct-to-consumer (D2C) companies.
This trend “is a huge benefactor to a brand, especially startup brands that need that boost to get a platform,” Kohli said.
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The development comes during a slowdown in startup funding from the usual sources such as venture capital firms. For celebrities, the investments are small, and brands get a competitive edge by associating with a known name, besides getting a social media bump through the star’s following.Kohli’s own investments in startups include food and beverage D2C brand Rage Coffee, plant-based meat startup Blue Tribe, fashion startup Universal Sportsbiz, high-performance wellness brand Hyperice and Digit Insurance, an insurance-tech firm.
The cricketer has 57.3 million followers on Twitter and over 256 million followers on Instagram.
Not just cricket
The backing of Indian companies for sports other than cricket in the form of endorsements and other deals could be transformative, according to Kohli.
“The right kind of support and motivation from Indian companies to endorse emerging talent will propel them towards a new direction, changing the landscape from what it was 20 years ago,” he said. “You can see this happening in international sport.”
The past two years have seen a significant increase in endorsements and sponsorships by brands in sports such as badminton, javelin, hockey and boxing. These signings tend to escalate right after big wins at global sporting events and are not always long-term or leveraged by brands consistently, unlike cricket.
When India won 61 medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and a record number of medals at the Tokyo Olympics the previous year, dozens of brands across sectors signed up the athletes.
“Through these (non-cricket) endorsements, brands are getting visibility and recognition, which, in turn, is generating interest among groups which otherwise wouldn’t have noticed them,” Kohli said.
Olympic javelin gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, badminton player PV Sindhu and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu as well as boxing champions Lovlina Borgohain and Nikhat Zareen have been among the notable athletes who have excelled internationally in recent years, leading to various brands and sponsors signing them up.
However, while their endorsement fees have increased, there remains a significant gap with cricket. Kohli’s fees are learnt to be in the range of Rs 5-8 crore per brand, while Chanu’s fees are in the range of Rs 1-1.5 crore.
“The right kind of support provides players with state-of-the-art equipment, gear and other key essentials,” Kohli said in the email. “So, I would say it’s a healthy partnership between brands and players.”
Global social media planning platform Hopper HQ said in a recent report that Kohli is the highest-paid Instagram celeb from India, charging Rs 8.9 crore per post. Globally, the report ranked him 14th in the Instagram Richlist of 2023, led by football legends Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Kohli said the figures weren’t accurate. “While I am grateful and indebted to all that I’ve received in life, the news that has been making rounds about my social media earnings is not true,” he posted on social media platform X.
Kohli, 34, has been ranked Asia’s second highest-paid athlete by global digital content company Sportico after Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka. The report said Kohli earned $31 million through various brand endorsements in 2022 and $2.9 million as salary. He is also the highest paid cricketer in the world.
“Virat embodies our brand’s quest to transform the eyewear industry,” said Narasimhan Narayanan, country head, EssilorLuxottica South Asia. “The eyewear and vision care market in India is anticipated to grow well and we want to be a catalyst to further expand the market.”