Neeraj Chopra continues to rise. He is now a household name, boasting a gold and a silver medal in his Olympics career, giving him the best medal cabinet for an Indian athlete competing in individual events. Chopra’s meteoric rise is set to continue in 2024 and beyond, despite missing out on gold in Paris 2024. In fact, Neeraj Chopra’s brand endorsements portfolio is set to grow by 50% in the ongoing calendar year, as per a report by Moneycontrol.
Star Indian cricketers Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma expectedly lead the way in terms of sportspersons in India with the highest brand value. However, Neeraj, who already rubs shoulders in that regard with some of the high-profile cricketers, is set to exceed some more.
According to TOI, India all-rounder Hardik Pandya and Neeraj share a similar brand value (around USD 29.6 million). However, with Neeraj’s endorsements portfolio set to grow, he is likely to usurp the former India vice-captain. Neeraj presently endorses 21 brands across 24 different categories.
“Currently, we are talking to about six to eight brands to discuss endorsement,” said Divyanshu Singh, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of JSW Sports, the company that manages Chopra’s portfolio.
Neeraj currently endorses brands like American sportswear company Under Armour, luxury watchmaker Omega, Gillette and Samsung among others.
Apart from Neeraj, badminton star PV Sindhu and recently retired football icon Sunil Chhetri rank in the upper echelons of Indian sportspersons who have a high brand value, but are not cricketers.
Neeraj was one of the favourites for a gold medal in javelin throw at the Paris Olympics 2024, having won gold in Tokyo 2020. However, Chopra’s 89.45m throw – although the second-best of his career – was only good enough for silver, as Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem threw an Olympic record 92.97m to clinch gold.
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