MPL to become the new kit sponsor for the Indian cricket team ahead of the Australia tour

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finally managed to secure a sponsorship deal for Team India a week ahead of their departure to Australia as they signed a 3-year deal with Mobile Premier League (MPL) for their kits and official merchandise. MPL is an online fantasy gaming platform. 

BCCI will be happy as they avoided the possibility of touring Australia without a kit sponsor. The deal, however, has hurt BCCI financially as MPL will now pay them 65 lakhs per match as compared to former sponsor, Nike’s 88 lakhs. BCCI’s contract with Nike ended earlier in the year and Nike decided not to extend their because they were unhappy with the existing deal and wanted a discounted rate due to the current economic scenario in Covid-19 pandemic.

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Nike’s four-year-deal was worth Rs. 370 crores and they paid an additional 30 crores as royalty for merchandising rights. MPL’s deal is worth Rs. 120 crores and they will pay 10% on ever jersey or the merchandise they sell. 

“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 per year for the three-year period. With that royalty will be 10 per cent of net sales per season,” an Apex Council member told ANI.

Earlier on August 3, BCCI had released an advertisement inviting tenders from all interested parties to bid for Team Kit Sponsor and Official Merchandising Partner Rights. In their advertisement, the BCCI had set a base price of R65 lakh per match, a 25 percent decrease from the previous deal. 

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According to reports, a host of companies, including Puma and Adidas, had picked up bid papers earlier but they were reluctant to pay the amount of money BCCI was asking for in uncertain times due to the global pandemic. They wanted the fees to be reduced to a third of what Nike was paying. The Board, however, was adamant which resulted in no company sending in their bid in the allotted time-frame by BCCI.

However, they managed to strike a negotiated deal with MPL just in time before the resumption of India’s International fixtures after the enforced break of 9 months in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

“MPL is focused on bringing the best gaming experience to its fans online through our app and we are extending that to the offline space through our exclusive range of merchandise including apparel and accessories,” said the MPL team.

MPL is currently associated with two IPL franchises (RCB and KKR), one CPL franchise (TKR) and the cricket boards of Ireland and the UAE.