IPL Champ Super Kings Sign League’s Most Lucrative Deal

The Chennai Super Kings, reigning Indian Premier League (IPL) champions, have agreed the most lucrative sponsorship deal in the league’s short history, following telecom provider Aircel’s decision to renew and improve its current partnership with the team.

The Aircel logo will continue to feature on the front of the match shirts and on the hats worn by the Chennai Super Kings throughout the tournament for the next three years.

The deal, confirmed by club officials, is reportedly worth at least US$19m over its duration, comfortably trumping Hero Honda’s current IPL record sponsorship with the Mumbai Indians, valued at around $15m.

One team official stated: “The deal is the biggest so far and most expensive by any sponsor across all the 10 IPL teams,” whilst Rhiti Sports Management promoter Arun Pandey, who controls all of Dhoni’s endorsements and brand associations, commented: “This is a record deal.”

Pandey went on to reveal that the Super Kings have enjoyed a significant increase in sponsorship revenues this year, up an estimated $5m from the last year’s winning campaign, and interest in the team has rocketed following the World Cup.

Pandey added: “We got a lot of queries from brands wanting to associate with the team after the World Cup, but we had already closed our deals by then. We had set a minimum benchmark figure for brands to pick up team sponsorship. The team has done very well and it is the defending champion.”

Alongside Aircel, Chennai Super Kings have two major sponsors – Gulf Oil and Amrapali, with other partners including PepsiCo, TI Cycles and Amity.