Top brands likely to ink pact with India’s Olympic hero Neeraj Chopra

• Follow

August 7, 2021 will be remembered as one of the best days of Indian sporting history, as Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian to win a gold medal in athletics at the Tokyo Olympics. With a throw of 87.58 meters in the men’s javelin, he is also the first Indian to win an Olympic gold in the track and field discipline and also the second Indian to win a gold in the individual category of Olympic games after Abhinav Bindra, who won a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The 23 year old is likely to witness a massive increase in his brand value and endorsement fees, according to sports marketing executives.

At least two experts from the celebrity management field say that, Chopra may see a 200% jump in his brand endorsement fees, touching Rs 1 crore. At present he charges an annual fee of Rs 20-30 lakh per deal.

Neeraj Chopra could be as big as Virat Kohli

Inspire Institute of Sport, JSW Sports, (the company which manages Chopra) founder, Parth Jindal said to HT Mint that Neeraj has been sponsored by a number of brands, as he was already an established athlete even before the Olympics, having won gold medals in the Commonwealth games and Asian games. And, since Saturday night their team’s phones have not stopped ringing.

A senior sports marketing executive who didn’t want to be named said that Neeraj Chopra could easily command Rs 1 core per shooting, as so many brands would be interested in him.

Apart from good looks and care free attitude, the executive added that the lack of exposure to the public would work as an advantage as people don’t know what to expect from him. In terms of brand value, if he does things right and positions himself well, he could be as big as Virat Kohli, he added.

At present, it is said that wearables, E-Commerce, automobiles and consumer electronic brands have shown interest in associating with Chopra.

Earlier, Chopra had worked with brands like Mobil India Lubricants, Gillette India, P&G, Amstrad AC, Country Delight Natural, Chinese smartphone maker iQOO India, sports drink brand Gatorade and nutrition and supplement brand MuscleBlaze.