JSW Sports to manage Chopra, Punia endorsements
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JSW Sports has signed long term contracts for managing endorsement deals of Olympic medalists Neeraj Chopra and Bajrang Punia. Most of these deals are expected to run through to the next Olympics to be held in Paris in 2024.
The endorsement fees of both sportsmen have risen multi-fold to over ₹2 crore per year from ₹20-30 lakh paid before their win in Tokyo.
Currently all endorsement deals being negotiated are upwards of ₹2.5 crore per year, said sources.
Also see: India tops in highest engagement on Facebook during Tokyo Olympics
Various brands across sectors including wearables, e-commerce, autos, and consumer electronics products categories have been lining up to sign the Olympic winners, he added.
When contacted, a JSW Group spokesperson declined to comment.
Currently, Chopra is Brand Ambassador of Gillette, Exxon Mobile, and Muscle Blaze while Punia endorses for Asics, Optimum Nutrition, Thums Up, Exxon Mobil, and Moj.
By winning the gold medal in men’s javelin, Chopra ended India’s 13-year-long wait for the national anthem at the medal ceremony in the Olympics. The 23-year-old from Panipat is a Junior Commissioned Officer in the Indian Army. His Tokyo gold assures him of a promotion to Subedar-Major, a rank attained after 30 years of service.
Punia won a creditable bronze in the men’s freestyle despite nursing a serious knee injury. He is the only Indian wrestler to have won three medals at the World Wrestling Championship. He added an Olympic medal to his list after winning the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Neeraj Chopra to bag more endorsement deals after gold at Tokyo Olympics
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After Neeraj Chopra’s historic gold medal win at Tokyo 2020, BCCI announced a Rs 1 crore cash reward for the star javelin thrower.
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has become the second Indian to have won a gold medal in Olympics in individual events.
And this is making many brands take note of him.
The sports arm of JSW Group, JSW Sports that manages the portfolio of Chopra, is already seeing many brands approaching them to associate with the athlete.
“We are seeing a lot of interest from brands. In fact, there was a lot of interest after he qualified for the finals. We were waiting for the finals to see how it goes. We will start activating conversations tomorrow,” Mustafa Ghouse, CEO, JSW Sports, told Moneycontrol.
He added that brand interest is diverse.
“Whole host of categories are showing interest. Pretty much his entire portfolio is open. We have a lot of options to work with right now.”
For Chopra who is a brand ambassador of Gillette, ExxonMobil, Muscle Blaze, JSW Sports is focusing more on endorsement deals.
While it will be both endorsement and digital activation, the first focus is endorsements, said Ghouse.
“As that’s long term we would like to see brands take that up. And there will be some digital led deals too.”
In addition, Ghouse expects to see price correction in Chopra’s endorsement fees.
It is estimated that Chopra’s endorsement fees was in the range of Rs 20-30 lakh per year which will now see a 1000 percent increase.
Currently, all endorsement deals are being negotiated upwards of Rs 2.5 crore per year
“He will be able to command better fees. It’s the first gold medal in track and field in 100 years. The kind of people that are posting and commenting about javelin and track and field it is way more than we have ever seen,” said Ghouse.
There is no denying that Chopra’s gold in the Tokyo Olympics got everyone’s attention.
Brands not only congratulated the athlete but also offered many rewards to Chopra.
IndiGo airlines announced that it will offer unlimited free travel to ‘Gold Medallist’ Neeraj Chopra for a period of one year.
ITC’s stationery brand Classmate took to Twitter to congratulate Chopra.
“Congratulations Neeraj Chopra on your perfect throw. Classmate celebrates your victory and hopes that your historic win inspires millions of Indians to dream big and enjoy learning various sports.”
Along with this, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced a cash award of Rs 1 crore for Chopra.
Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd announced that it is awarding Rs 1 crore to Chopra.
Earlier known as GoAir, Go First has offered free travel to all medal-winners until 2025. The offer is applicable to all who won it for their country.
Industrialist Anand Mahindra took to Twitter to gift Chopra the XUV700.
Edtech major Byju’s announced a cash reward of Rs 2 crore for star India javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra following his gold medal winning feat at the Tokyo Olympics.
Also, Lovely Professional University from where Chopra is pursuing his Bachelors in Arts degree will be gifting Rs 50 lakh to the Olympic champion.
These rewards don’t come as a surprise as team India has given its best performance in Olympics.
India finished its Tokyo Olympics campaign with one gold, two silvers and four bronze medals.
Will Neeraj Chopra’s brand endorsement fee cross this milestone?
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NEW DELHI : Neeraj Chopra, 23, who created history on 7 August by winning India’s first gold medal in athletics with a throw of 87.58 metres in men’s javelin at the Tokyo Olympics, is likely to witness a massive increase in his brand value and endorsement fees, said sports marketing executives.
At least two experts in the celebrity management field said Chopra, who charges an annual fee of ₹20-30 lakh per deal, may see a 200% jump with brand endorsement fees touching ₹1 crore, justifying his accomplishment. Chopra is the first Indian athlete to win an Olympic medal in a track-and-field discipline. He is also the second Indian to win a gold medal in the individual category of Olympic Games after Abhinav Bindra, who won a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Parth Jindal, founder, Inspire Institute of Sport and director of JSW Sports, which manages Chopra, said he is thrilled that the spark they saw in him almost five years ago is now being recognized by the entire country and the world. “Even before the Olympics, Neeraj was an established athlete having won goal medals in the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. He’s sponsored by a number of brands and, since last night, our team’s phones have not stopped ringing," he said.
Wearables, e-commerce, automobile, and consumer electronic brands are said to have shown interest in associating with Chopra.
A senior sports marketing executive said Chopra could easily command ₹1 crore per shooting. “So many brands would be interested in him, but he needs to be careful how he’s managing his time and how his commercials are being priced," the person said declining to be named.
He’s also good looking and comes across as carefree and fresh, the executive added. “He’s not exposed, so people don’t know what to expect from him. In terms of brand value, it won’t be a hyperbole to say if he does things right and positions himself well then he can be as big as a Virat Kohli."
So far, state governments, Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and edtech firm Byju’s have announced cash rewards for Chopra. Many companies have also announced freebies, such as IndiGo’s unlimited free travel for a year and auto firm Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd gifting a brand new XUV700 to him.
Chopra, a junior officer in the Indian Army with the Rajputana Rifles, made his first mark at the international level with a world junior title in 2016. Two years later, he became the first Indian athlete to win the javelin gold at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games. He is also the national record holder with 88.07-metre throw. He had also won a gold in the Junior World Championship and set U-20 World Record with 86.48-metre throw. He is also a 2018 Arjuna awardee.
Chopra has worked with brands such as 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.
Celebrity managers said since age is on his side, Chopra has another decade to reach the top. His Olympic win has also translated into popularity in the virtual world with his social media following skyrocketing to touch over two million across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Jigar Rambhia, national director, sports, Wavemaker India, said his agency is receiving multiple queries for digital-only activations from brands with winning athletes, especially after Mirabai Chanu won.
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