MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and mobile e-Sports platform MPL (Mobile Premier League) have signed a three-year deal for Team India’s kit sponsorship.
The deal, signed with MPL Sports Apparel and Accessories, which is effective immediately and runs till December 2023, will see the board earn Rs 6.5 million (Rs 65 lakh) per game over the three-year period. According to Outlook, there was no bidding.
Speaking to ANI, an Apex Council member of the board confirmed the development and explained the details of the new kit deal with MPL.
“Yes, we have signed a deal with MPL that is effective from November 2020 till December 2023. The kit sponsorship amount is Rs 65 lakh per match while merchandising is Rs 3 crore (Rs 30m) per year for the three year period. With that royalty will be 10 per cent of net sales per season,” the Apex Council member said.
It bears noting that when the BCCI issued its invitation to tender on August 3, it had put the base price for interested bidders at Rs 8.8 million per match. Seeing as this offer got zero interest, the board subsequently reduced the base price to Rs 6.1 million and a minimum guarantee of Rs 60 million per year.
MPL is endorsed by Virat Kohli and the online gaming company can be seen on the shirts of several teams playing in the IPL.
“Our vision through MPL Sports Cricket Gear is to become a formidable cricketing gear product and a brand which captures the minds of young cricketing fans and grows with them along with their journey from being a cricketing fan to a product user to a person who advocates our brand of gear,” a company source told Outlook.
MPL is currently associated with two IPL franchises (Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore), a Caribbean Premier League franchise (Trinbago Knight Riders) and the cricket boards of Ireland and the UAE.
Although several companies, including adidas and Puma, purchased tender documents, they did not submit a final bid.
For the record, US sportswear giant Nike, which has been struggling in this market and is way behind its German rivals Puma, adidas and Reebok, was the incumbent kit partner for Team India cricket. Nike had a four-year deal with the BCCI for 3.7 billion with a royalty of Rs 300 million.
Nike, which had been India’s apparel sponsor since 2006, had initially requested BCCI to extend its contract at a reduced rate. The BCCI didn’t agree. Though the first right of refusal was still with Nike, they didn’t show interest in renewing the contract.
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