For Neeraj Chopra, his 87.58 meter throw not only brought him an historic gold medal at the Olympics, but also, reportedly, inflated his endorsement fees by 1000%. With this increase the javelin thrower’s brand value, as per reports, is at par with Indian cricket team’s captain Virat Kohli. 

Virat Kohli, with a brand value of Rs 17.33 thousand crore, was declared India’s most valuable celebrity, DNA reports in May stated. With cricket being one of the most popular sports in India and Asia, cricketers have been the faces of numerous brands. 

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However, one name that has come up in the same bracket as Kohli, is Neeraj Chopra. The 23-year-old, who as per reports used to make Rs 15-20 lakhs per endorsement annually,  is now in talks to sign new deals which will be worth 10 times that money.

Kohli, reportedly charges Rs 1 to 5 crores for an endorsement. Neeraj’s hike takes him close to the RCB captain. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul charge between Rs. 50 lakh to Rs. 1 crore per year, reports state.

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 JSW Sports, who manage Neeraj Chopra, are in talks regarding five or six deals with luxury auto and apparel brands, according to Economic Times. These deals could be finalised within weeks. 

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“These are multi-year deals which will run up to the Paris Olympics. While we have requests from close to 80 brands, Neeraj has a limited number of free days between training camps in India and abroad over the next 12-14 months, so we have to be selective about signing on brands,” Mustafa Ghouse, chief executive of JSW Sports, told Economic Times.

The ace athlete, however, has made up his mind over not endorsing alcohol or tobacco brands, Ghouse said.