'Virat the Brand'
In today's age sports players are looked upon as not just stars of their own game but also as brands in the commercial sense for the player, his sponsors, his nation and lastly his fans. Today, we look into a Virat Kohli, who has become a brand for himself.
The Beginning of the Virat brand :
On 18th August 2008, Virat Kohli broke into the Indian Cricket team as a starter. His main role initially was as a Number 3 or 4 batsman with occasionally opening the batting order. Up until 2011 he played consistently and like all to be great batsmen did get some sponsorship's even early in his career with Fastrack and Munch (Nestle). However after his solid performances in the 2011 CWC and 2012 T20 WC he caught the attention of advertisers and fans alike - even more.
The Growth of the Brand :
After his world class performances in 2012 and carrying the Indian team in India's tour to South Africa in 2014 he gained recognition and craze like never before. He was being tipped to become the next Indian Captain after MS Dhoni which he did start doing from 2016 onwards.
During all this the Virat Kohli Brand gained massive popularity among not just Indian's but cricket fans across the globe. This got him multi million commercial deals with top brands like Tissot watches, Wrogn, Manyavar,Vicks and Cinthol soaps. This along with several more fringe and major sponsor's made up a large income for Kohli during this peroid. It was reported that by 2016 he was earning around $25 million just from brand endorsements which even made him a part of Forbes' 100 richest paid athletes around this time.
The Boom :
'The Boom', as we would like to call it begun for Kohli in 2017 and has been so ever since. As mentioned in the previous phase, Virat was named in the Forbes' magazine in the 100 richest athletes section and now it was time for this brand to reach another level.
He began endorsing some of the biggest companies in the world like MRF, Phillips light bulbs, Blue Star, Mobile Premier League and many more.
Also since 2017, his brand value has absolutely skyrocketed. Earning more from endorsements than salaries, Virat was valued at $144 million in 2017 and within 4 years; today in 2021 he is valued at $237.5 million. This 64.93% increase in valuation now makes him the 59th richest sportsman in the world.
The Effect on His Career:
At the end of this article, we would like to emphasize on the impact his world class form combined with multi-million sponsorship deals has on his day to day life.
Well, it's very simple. Virat Kohli due to all these factors is the most known cricketer at the moment in non-cricket nations. He has an impact on the world which very few people have. His excess fame is one of the reasons why he also has to be on his guard not just for himself but also his brand that he has created.
This is evident from what Star Sports (Indian Cricket Broadcasters) expected from the BCCI (Board of Control Cricket India) while signing a contract worth Rs 16,347 crore giving them broadcasting rights. They said that at all times the BCCI must agree to play the strongest squad available in any game. This was obviously directed at players like Kohli, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma; implying that these players must play as they improve revenue of the broadcasters due to their fame.
Kohli, for the past 2 years has been slowly fading away from his prime. He has no longer been 'carrying' the team more than occasionally like what he did from 2016-2018. Slowly the team is once again becoming a team and yet with his declining performances too he can never drop himself due to poor form. This is the effect the brand has had on a player like him. Every time he doesn't play well or drops himself (hypothetically), his brand loses valuation which he cannot afford to do for the sake of sponsors.
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Credits:
ESPN Cricinfo
BCCI
Forbes Magazine
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