By Christina Moniz and Alokananda Chakraborty
Mithali Raj, who known as time on her 23-year cricketing profession on Wednesday, had an enormous hand within the rising prominence of ladies sportspersons within the nation. In the method, she was among the many handful of sportswomen sought out by manufacturers to be their endorser.
Among the manufacturers she promoted throughout her profession are Australian wine model Jacob’s Creek, New Zealand-based batmaker Laver and Wood, cosmetics model L’Oreal, American Tourister, and, extra lately, Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).
Experts say Raj’s model worth might go down a couple of notches after her retirement because it occurs with most retired sportspersons, however there are methods she will be able to hold it going as her persona represents consistency, dependability, versatility, amongst another attributes.
Rahul Trehan, chief working officer, IOS Sports & Entertainment, says, “Upon retirement, the endorsement value of any sportsperson goes down — irrespective of the gender or sport. Our estimate is, it erodes by 25-30% and that’s going to happen with Raj too. That said, she is a legend and has tremendous recall in the country and even internationally. On the other hand, we have up and coming women cricketers like Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur who are in great demand these days.” So, the estimate is, if Raj takes dwelling `50 lakh per endorsement presently, it will be within the vary of `30-35 lakh publish retirement.
In any case, at an estimated `50 lakh per endorsement, Raj’s charges have been considerably decrease than many different ladies sporting legends, to not point out her male counterparts. Former Indian skipper of the boys’s crew, Virat Kohli, as an example, rakes in a cool `8-10 crore per deal.
Samit Sinha, managing companion, Alchemist Brand Consulting, notes that Raj has not likely been given her due within the area of endorsement regardless of her excellent cricketing achievements. “For a long time, especially during most of Raj’s career, women’s cricket just didn’t get enough TV viewership or spectator eyeballs. She may have signed a few endorsement deals during her career, but the fact that most of them are not top of mind just goes to show that she didn’t get enough visibility,” says Sinha.
He says that immediately when one thinks of ladies sports activities stars within the nation, the extra seen names are PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Sania Mirza and Mary Kom. “The irony is that this is the sunset of Raj’s career but she is not in the league of some of these more celebrated sportswomen,” Sinha factors out.
On the model endorsement area, Sindhu instructions as a lot as `1.50 crore per deal, whereas Mirza would in all probability be within the `80 lakh per deal. The present crop of ladies cricketers can be discovering their place within the solar. That would augur nicely for Raj, who can add worth to manufacturers in sectors reminiscent of insurance coverage and banking, well being and health, on condition that she is nearly synonymous with values reminiscent of consistency and dependability.
Hariharan Subramanian, co-founder and director, Nyka Experience, factors out that she would even be a perfect match for manufacturers that discuss aspiration, inclusion and being a go-getter. Raj has a great social media presence which can discover synergy amongst manufacturers making an attempt to enchantment to new-age customers. She can be an excellent public speaker, notes Subramanian, which is usually a huge draw amongst organisations making an attempt to handle ladies’s points and seem inclusive.
Professor Sajith Narayanan, affiliate dean of School of Communication at Flame University, agrees that whereas Raj may be much less seen on the sector resulting from her retirement, because of her presence on social media, she would proceed to get pleasure from sustained engagement along with her followers and followers. And that’s a plus.“She could easily command `10-15 lakh per appearance at events to motivate women in an organisation, and perhaps another `2-3 lakh if she were to use her social media presence for the brand,” an trade hand estimates.
While it’s pure for the endorsement worth of a retired athlete to decrease, lots will depend upon what Raj does subsequent. Sinha says that if she chooses to pursue a job in cricket commentary or teaching, she is going to proceed to have visibility, and due to this fact manufacturers may nonetheless need to affiliate along with her, very similar to they do with retired male stars reminiscent of Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev.
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Source: www.financialexpress.com”