Brands make a beeline for Sunil Chhetri after SAFF win, other footballers gain traction too

Star footballer Sunil Chhetri is seeing more brands looking to associate with him after the SAFF Championship win earlier this year

Brands are racing to score endorsement deals with star footballer Sunil Chhteri, who led the Indian football team to its ninth victory at the South Asian Football Federation Championship (SAFF) earlier this month. And advertisers are ready to pay the asking price for these deals, without any negotiations.

Chhetri, who currently endorses six to seven brands, is likely to see the number go up to 10-15. However, a lot depends on whether the footballer thinks the brands are a right fit, said the athlete’s talent manager, Bandana Chhetri. His endorsement portfolio currently includes sportswear brand Puma, FMCG firm Pintola and sports content platform VU Sports, among others.

She said that queries have increased after the SAFF Championship. "But he is very choosy about brand associations. There are F&B (food and beverage) brands that he has left out which is a large category. Also, he does not endorse protein and supplement brands. So, a lot of brands get cancelled out. But after SAFF, the brands that we had said no to, are again coming back," said Bandana Chhetri, Co-Founder, FairPlay Sports, a sports consultancy that represents Sunil Chhetri.

Striking a goal in the brand world

Among the new deal signings is a smartwatch brand, a phone company and talks are going on to associate with a laptop company as well. “The number of endorsements in his (Sunil Chhetri) portfolio could go up to 10-15 or stay where it is, as he is very particular when it comes to brand deals," she said.

When it comes to endorsement fees, the talent manager said that there are no negotiations by brands in what he is charging, especially after the SAFF Cup win. His endorsement fee is over Rs 1 crore and keeps fluctuating depending on the deal tenure.

His social media following also saw an uptick during and after the SAFF Championship. The footballer's Instagram following went up from around 4.8 million to 5.7 million and the talent manager expects it to reach six million by the end of this month or by mid of August.

More interest in footballers

After SAFF Championship, while the Asian Games may be a missed opportunity, Sonu Lamba, who is Sunil Chhetri's agent, said there are tournaments like King's Cup in Thailand, one in Malaysia and Asia Cup in Doha in January 2024. "The calendar looks packed. Also, AIFF (All India Football Federation) is looking to schedule more matches to prepare the team for the Asia Cup," he added.

Lamba said for Chhetri as well as other footballers, fan engagement increased significantly during the SAFF Championship when around 26,000 fans came to witness India's win on July 4. This was unlike five years ago when the Indian football team was playing against team China in Mumbai and 2,000 people attended.

"Post the SAFF cup, we are getting calls for all our footballers and they are getting a good number of deals. We have received a lot of queries for Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Sandesh Jhingan and Anirudh Thapa. And there are no negotiations for endorsement charges," said Bandana Chhetri.