Year-wise IPL title sponsors and fee from 2008 to 2020

Since 13 years of its inception, the Indian Premier League has not only redefined cricket but also has changed the economics of the country. The Indian T20 league, undoubtedly, is one of the most popular cricket leagues in the world. It has managed to hold onto its forte and gain everybody’s attention owing to its widespread viewership and presence of players from all across the globe.

The cash-rich league’s sponsorship growth over the 13 years can be an economist’s delight. The razzmatazz and money associated with the Indian Premier League have been well documented and the title sponsorship of the event is an indicator of the eye-popping valuation the franchise-based league enjoys.

From people terming the DLF’s title sponsorship deal at Rs. 200 crores for five years overrated and overpriced, to VIVO paying a handsome amount of Rs. Rs. 439 crores per year, the league has seen exponential growth. Let’s take a look at IPL’s five title sponsorship deals involving four brands in the span of 13 seasons of the T20 extravaganza.

1. DLF (2008-12) – 40 cr

India’s leading real estate developer DLF Ltd had bagged the sponsorship rights of the inaugural series of the Indian Premier League. In 2008, the company had won the title sponsorship by making the highest bid of Rs. 40 crores in the fair and transparent open bid process. Winning the bid, DLF had signed an exclusive five-year contract for the title sponsorship with the BCCI by paying a staggering amount of Rs. 200 crores.

Though many consumers had termed the deal as overrated, the real estate company had reaped a lot of benefits. DLF was almost synonymous with the IPL in the initial years. With a large audience and viewership across the country, DLF had asserted itself as a trusted brand among the Indians.

However, the company decided to back out and didn’t renew the deal in 2012 as it witnessed a downturn in sales and was looking to reduce its debts. Also, in an official statement, DLF had said that sponsoring IPL was a strategic decision and it would now like to explore other platforms for such associations.

2. Pepsi (2013-15) – 79.2 cr

Soft drinks giant Pepsi made an entry into the Indian sponsorship market in 2013 by winning the bid of the IPL title sponsorship by paying a whopping price of Rs. 396 crores for a five year period. The PepsiCo became the second title sponsors of the lucrative tournament by effectively replacing DLF and paid almost double of what the real estate company had paid.

Pepsi had high hopes with its sponsorship with IPL as it was a tremendous project which rivaled any other sporting brand across the globe. However, the company terminated its five-year contract with the league two years ahead of schedule in October 2015.

The decision was linked with the negative publicity which enveloped the tournament following the 2013 corruption scandal. As the Lodha Committee suspended the IPL franchises Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for two years for betting activities of their key officials in 2015, the beverage-giant also decided to back out in fear of the scandal bringing a ‘disrepute’ to its brand.

3. Vivo (2016-17) – ~100 cr

Chinese Mobile company Vivo replaced PepsiCo as the title sponsor of the high-profile Indian Premier League in 2016, a change necessitated by the beverage giant’s sudden pullout from a five-year deal that was to end in 2017.

Vivo had signed an exclusive contract with the BCCI for a two-year period (2016-2017) by paying a staggering amount of Rs. 100 crores per year. The IPL was hit by the allegations of match-fixing that particular year and this was the main reason behind Pepsi terminating their contract two years before.

Despite the challenges, the Indian board managed to rope in the smartphone-giant for Rs. 200 crores for two years, which is a 25 percent increase in the price that Pepsi had paid per year for its association with the tournament.

4. Vivo (2018-19) – 439.8 cr

After its two-year title sponsorship contract ended in 2017, the mobile-phone maker bagged the T20 league’s title sponsorship rights for the next five years with a whopping Rs 2,199 crore bid in 2018. The winning bid saw a mammoth 554 per cent increase from the previous contract in which Vivo paid around Rs 100 crore per year. With the contract, BCCI stands to gain approximately Rs 440 crore per year.

The association with the IPL proved to be really beneficial for Vivo as it made them a household name in the country. Also, the cash-rich league is getting bigger and better with each passing year, thus the Chinese brand hoped to reap a lot of financial befits from their 5-year contract.

However, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer opted out of the Indian Premier League 2020 title sponsorship after a disagreement with India’s cricket board over a discount on the sponsorship fee and in response to growing opposition to a Chinese brand backing the tournament following the Galwan stand-off. The company received a lot of backlash on social media as a result of which it decided to put a halt on its longstanding deal with the BCCI for this year.

5. Dream 11 (2020) – 222 cr

The BCCI’s search for the new title sponsors for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League ended on Dream 11, a start-up pioneered by two Indian entrepreneurs. Vivo, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, had suspended its contract for this year’s title sponsorship following a public backlash against Chinese companies.

The fantasy sports platform won the bid against companies like BYJU’s and Unacademy by quoting the highest amount of Rs. 222 crores. This means that the Indian board would be getting Rs 217.80 crore less from the IPL’s title sponsorship this year. Though Dream 11 has made a bid for three years, it would have to make way for Vivo in case it decides to come back to the table next year.

However, if Vivo does not return as title sponsors, the fantasy sports start-up will continue to hold the title rights till the 2022 edition. The break up of Dream11’s winning bid is as follows: Rs 222 crore for the first year, Rs 240 crore for year two and Rs 240 crore for year three, for an average of Rs 234 crore per year.