Cricketer Suryakumar Yadav’s brand value and endorsements have risen on the back of his stellar performance in the ongoing T20 World Cup. His talent management company expects Yadav, aka. SKY, to endorse as many as 20 brands by the end of this year.
"When we signed Surya to our roster in July 2021, he had 4 brands in his portfolio. Today he has 10 brands which have been announced and another 7-8, which shall be announced this month,” said Nikhil Bardia, Head of Sponsorship Sales and Talent, RISE Worldwide, talent management company that manages the portfolio of Yadav.
Bardia said that the cricketer will add brands from categories like beverages, mobile accessories, media, sports apparel, casual apparel, education abroad services, and three big MNCs (multinational corporations).
This year, Suryakumar Yadav was signed by three brands, men’s grooming company UrbanGabru, FMCG firm Pintola and consumer electronics manufacturer Boult Audio, among others.
"We are looking at around 20 brands by the end of the year. Also, Surya’s average per day cost (for an endorsement) currently is around Rs 65-70 lakh, which has grown 3x since the last year," he said.
The talent management company is looking at signing many long-term deals as compared to more 1-year contracts. "We have looked at creating a balance between multi-athlete and exclusive deals but now we are looking at more exclusive ones," said Bardia.
No major brands now
“Brands want consistency, which he has shown in the last one year. While his endorsement portfolio currently has no major brands, in the next one year, we will see some big brands signing SKY," said Vijayaraghavan Venugopal, Founder and CEO, Fast&Up, a sports nutrition brand.
Yadav has powered India to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup by scoring 225 runs in the Super 12 stage with an average of 75 and strike rate of 193.96. That caps a stellar 2022 when he became only the second batsman globally to accumulate 1000 runs a year in T20 internationals.
“The performance of a player impacts brand value. Surya has been a very consistent player, especially in the past two-three years and that will boost the value of the brands associated with him," said Neerav Tomar, MD and CEO, IOS Sports, a sports marketing firm.
While Yadav has been gaining popularity even before the T20 tournament, the cricketer has become more popular after his last two games, especially against Zimbabwe, said Lloyd Mathias, a business strategist and an independent director.
“His brand endorsement value should double after T20 World Cup," he added.
Mathias thinks that the cricketer will see a mainstream consumer brand signing a deal with him. “He has four-five years ahead of him to play. One or two major brands will show healthy interest. Plus, his popular name SKY has gained a lot of traction on social media.”
Sports marketer Rahul Trehan said that the name SKY is ruling the hearts of cricket fans and Suryakumar Yadav has been faring decently in the endorsement space. "I believe that his portfolio is soon going to see some big names backing him up,” he added.
Bardia said that when the company had signed him July last year, they started off with digital deals while focusing on his social media presence. "Backed by his on-field performances, his social media presence has gone up by over 300 percent and now he’s in the top 10 active Indian cricketers when it comes to Instagram," he said.
Work cut out for brand SKY
While SKY is reaping rewards for his perseverance and hard work, which will lead to a lot of ad deals in the coming months, it will also be a big distraction for him as a sportsman, said Ajimon Francis, managing director of Brand Finance India, a brand valuation and strategy consultancy firm.
“We have seen it with Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Shreyas Iyer. SKY will have to remain all the more tough in the months to come while balancing media interest and his own training regime," he said.
Brands that are in the growth phase look for one-two year deals with cricketers and for that they see consistency and performance across all formats, including Test and One-day matches, said Venugopal.
“SKY will have to transform himself as an all-format player as he has currently proved himself in T20 only. But a lot of analysts are saying that he has the potential to be in other formats as well. Once he migrates to more formats, there will be more interest in brands. He is a natural choice for the 2023 one-day World Cup and there will also be IPL coming next year. So there will be a lot of opportunities for him," he said.
Venugopal said that SKY, as a cricketer, has blossomed late as ideally brands want players who are in their mid-20s, so that once they start performing they have more years. “With SKY at 32, he has another three years. So, he is a great bet but it will not be a blind call," he said.
Mathias said that Yadav, in the endorsement world, has been low-profile so far. "He has been low profile, yet he has been delivering consistently and this combination is what attracts advertisers. This is something we saw with MS Dhoni in his early days," he said.
This story has been updated to include comments from Suryakumar Yadav’s talent management firm on his new brand deals.