TOI

Bangalore, June 22: Who's the top earner among Indian sportspersons? For almost two decades, that's been a no-brainer. Sachin Tendulkar, beloved icon of a nation, first choice of corporates seeking celebrity endorsers, has consistently topped the charts. But that now seems to have changed - and how.

Sources within the sports management industry claim Indian One-day and Twenty20 skipper MS Dhoni is expected to earn up to Rs 50 crore this year. In comparison, Tendulkar will be making around Rs 35 crore.

Both Dhoni and Tendulkar reportedly charge around the same amount for ads. "Their price tags can go up to Rs 4 crore each for every endorsement they sign," a source close to both said. But Dhoni is said to have pulled ahead of the master blaster in terms of the number of brands endorsed.

Just two years ago, when Dhoni was a new kid on the block, he used to charge between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 40 lakh per endorsement. But the rapid increase in his stature - fuelled by India's historic victories in the T20 World Cup and the Australian tri-series, and Chennai Super Kings' march to the IPL final under his leadership - has seen his asking price going up sharply.

It's a price that advertisers are more than happy to pay. "Dhoni is a big brand today and a lot of representatives from India Inc are showing interest in associating with him," said Dhoni's agent, Jeet Banerjee. Specifically asked about Dhoni's exact earnings, Banerjee declined to cite a figure.

Sandip Tarcas of Future Group, which recently signed Dhoni as an endorser and has also been associated with Sachin, said: "Brand Dhoni is 10 times bigger than he used to be, but to us Tendulkar is an icon and they both have mass connectivity."

Interestingly, Dhoni fetched the highest tag during the Indian Premier League auctions when the Chennai Super Kings bid $1.5 million (around Rs 6 crore) for him. Tendulkar was not part of the auction, since as an 'icon', he was guaranteed 15% more than the highest bid for a Mumbai Indians player.

He finally wound up with around Rs 4 crore, though there was heated debate between fans on whether he would have fetched a higher sum than Dhoni if he had been available for bidding.

Among the other big earners, Rahul Dravid is projected to have an annual income of Rs 25 crore despite recent fluctuations in fortune. Yuvraj Singh follows with Rs 18 crore. But the big earner of the future is likely to be Ishant Sharma - fitness and form willing. Sharma and Virender Sehwag both make about Rs 10 crore each. But the growing popularity of the 19-year old sensation is likely to catapult him into the Rs 15-crore bracket from next year.