The growth of IPL as a product and brand is fairly reflected in the title sponsors' fees and their desire to claim bragging rights over cricket's most lucrative league. Over the years, several business moguls have offered the BCCI large sums in exchange for title sponsorship rights. Let us look at the biggest sponsors in IPL.
1. DLF
When DLF was chosen as the headline sponsor of the inaugural Indian Premier League, it immediately gained notoriety. The real estate firm in Gurugram gave the BCCI 40 CR annually. Following this, DLF continued to be the headline sponsor from 2008 through 2012. The first company to sponsor the IPL as its title sponsor was DLF. This decision caused some controversy, but as DLF became well-known thanks to the IPL, everyone saw how wise it was. In 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, DLF continued to serve as the title sponsor.
2. Pepsi
Pepsi, the world's largest soft drink company, replaced DLF and acquired the contract for 396 Crore over five years. Two teams were suspended from the IPL in 2015 as a result of the rigging controversy. The Lodha Committee suspended the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for a period of two years. Following this, Pepsi canceled the 5-year contract after just 3 years. Pepsi just paid the BCCI 238,2 crores for three years to serve as the title sponsor for IPL 2013, 2014, and 2015.
3. Vivo
IPL's title sponsor for 2017 and 2018 was Vivo. They paid the BCCI 100 Crore annually to purchase the title rights for the following two years. VIVO once again secured the title rights to the IPL for 5 years following the overwhelming success of their first agreement. This time, they raised the threshold and paid a staggering $2,199,000,000 for 5 years. For the 2021 IPL, VIVO acted as the title sponsor once more. BCCI made a staggering 439.8 crores from serving as the IPL 2021's title sponsor.
4. Dream 11
One of the leading fantasy gaming platforms on the globe is Dream 11, and the agreement appeared to do wonders for them. Due to its clever marketing techniques and memorable advertisements during the most recent IPL season, it gained a household name. We will continue to see astounding sums for the title sponsorship in the following seasons because the IPL brand currently appears to be unstoppable. Dream XI has agreed to pay 240 crores for the second year and 240 crores for the third year of the upcoming seasons.
5. Tata Group
The most reputable industrial corporation in India, TATA Group, took over as the title sponsor in 2022 and 2023 from the Chinese manufacturing firm VIVO. The TATA group will spend 335 crores annually for these two years. In these two years, the IPL has added two more teams, bringing the total number of teams to 10, in addition to a new title sponsor.
6. Byju
One of the most coveted pieces of sporting real estate in the world, the area on the front of the India cricket team's shirt, will continue to be home to BYJU, one of the top educational technology brands in the world. After its initial tenure expired in March 2022, shortly before the start of IPL 2022, it extended its agreement with the BCCI for another 18 months (until the end of 2023) An estimated $55 million is the worth of the extension.
7. Unacademy
Unacademy, a young tech company, has been named the Indian Premier League's central sponsor, while Dream11 is the league's title sponsor. Unacademy is also said to have struck a three-year agreement with the BCCI to serve as an official partner of the IPL and will invest between 120 and 130 crores over the course of the three years.
8. Swiggy
As a result of the BCCI selecting Swiggy as an IPL 2022 sponsor, one of the nation's biggest events will now feature the online food delivery service. Swiggy will pay INR 35 crores for the sponsorship and serve as the IPL's on-field sponsor over the course of the one-year contract, according to reports.
9. CRED
CRED has been chosen by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to serve as the IPL 2020's official partner. As a first-time sponsor, the company that has signed a three-year agreement has several creative strategies in place to maximize the benefits of this affiliation.
10. RuPay
The National Payments Corporation of India's product, RuPay, has been signed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as an official partner for the upcoming two seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL). RuPay will pay about 140 crores over the course of two years.
