Dhoni signs Rs 210 crore (USD 42 million) endorsement deal, World's Highest Paid Cricketer

Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has signed a whopping Rs 200 crore endorsement deal with a talent management company, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar in the corporate contract sweepstakes.

If popularity has a say in the fortune one rakes in, this is the biggest example. And the figures prove just that. According to Forbes, Dhoni was the world’s highest paid cricketer last year, earning USD 10 million, surpassing Sachin’s USD 8 million earnings. And now, when the just-married cricketer has signed a three-year-deal with Rhiti Sports Management, he has stolen the crown of endorsement earnings from the Master Blaster overnight, breaking his record of the Rs 180 crore three-year-deal with sports management firm, Iconix.  

Dhoni has entered into a two-year deal with Rhiti Sports Management and Mindscapes, which will manage the Indian skipper's long list of endorsements and brand associations, corporate profile, patents and digital rights, images, visibility on social networking sites and merchandise through a joint venture.

Tendulkar's three-year deal with sports management firm Iconix, signed in 2006, was worth Rs 180 crore.

Confirming the development, Rhiti Sports General Manager (Operations) Sanjay Pandey said as per the agreement, the company will be looking after Dhoni's entire spectrum of endorsements.

"Yes, we have entered into a two-year contract with Dhoni for Rs 200 crore. We have signed the contract a week back. From now onwards we will be handling Dhoni's endorsements," Pandey said.

Apart from Dhoni, Rhiti Sports also manages his teammates R P Singh and Harbhajan Singh.

Currently, Dhoni is the country's most expensive sportsperson and is associated with 22 brands such as PepsiCo, Reebok, Aircel, Godrej and Hersheys.

By Yahoo Sports