MS Dhoni inks bat sponsorship deal worth Rs. 25 crore

MS Dhoni

Indian cricket captain and youth icon MS Dhoni is going to achieve another milestone by inking a bat sponsorship deal worth Rs 25 crore. His bat will carry the logos of Spartan Sports and Amity University.

According to sources , he will get 18-20 crore from Australian sports major Spartan Sports in one year. This also includes a royalty of goods sold by his joint venture with Spartan Sports. A person close to this deal said, “It could also include an equity stake in Spartan Sports for Dhoni.”

Amity University will pay a hefty amount of Rs. 6 crore for their logo to be placed on the back of Dhoni’s bat. “We are all about leadership and focus on the youth,” said Atul Chauhan, chancellor of the private university. “Dhoni too is a great leader and has a big youth connect.”

Dhoni’s earlier bat deal with Reebok fetched him only Rs. 6 crore per year but after this deal his bat will bring him around Rs. 24 crore which is 4 times of his earlier deal.

Before this deal, Virat Kohli’s deal with MRF worth Rs. 6.5 crore was the highest among Indians. Dhoni, however, has now broken all barriers and brought a new concept of sponsorship to Indian cricket.

According to Arun Pandey, owner of Rhiti Sports that manages Dhoni, “We are getting more money by splitting our properties and selling them separately. In the last five years, the MS Dhoni brand has become much bigger.” Spartan will launch a brand named ’7 by MSD’ as a part of this deal.

Spartan Sports Managing Director Kunal Sharma confirmed the deal and said that they were very excited to have Dhoni on their platform. Spartan also have deals with Australian skipper Michel Clarke, West Indian Chris Gayle and England’s Matt Prior.