The new Lucknow-based Indian Premier League franchise, which is owned by the Chairperson of RPSG Group, Sanjiv Goenka has appointed a fantasy sports platform as their front-of-shirt sponsor, according to SportsMint Media sources. The deal has been officiated at a record high price of around Rs 23 crore per year. This is a momentous development for the franchise as the sponsorship deals are the most important position to mint money for any team.
Approximately 45-50 per cent of sponsorship revenue comes from the front-of-shirt deal. Based on the income from this sponsorship, the team can fairly estimate the potential revenue for the season.
This is also a tough position to monetise as the values that are required to commit to the team is humongous. However, the Lucknow team has beaten all the odds by reportedly winning this gold standard deal at the start of their venture.
The franchise owner Sanjiv Goenka also has a strong experienced sports marketing team with a rock-hard track record of monetising the former Indian Premier League team, Rising Pune Super Giant, as well as the team they own in the Indian Super League, ATK Mohun Bagan.
Such large investment deals also authenticate the fact that advertisers see new teams as an opportunity to scoop up key positions and are willing to pay a premium for it. As the most populous state, Uttar Pradesh becomes strategically important to a large segment of advertisers who are looking to promote their brand.
As per sources, Lucknow is targetting KL Rahul, after he parted ways with his former IPL franchise Punjab Kings (PBKS). According to recent reports, he was approached by the Lucknow-based franchise ahead of the IPL 2022 retention. The former Sunrisers Hyderabad player, Rashid Khan was also approached by the franchise.
The former Indian opener, Gautam Gambhir, was appointed as the mentor of the franchise. The southpaw has led Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles in the past. The two new IPL teams are allowed to pick three cricketers from the pool ahead of the 2022 auction. Apart from KL Rahul and Rashid, the likes of David Warner, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Yuzvendra Chahal and Trent Boult have also been released by their respective franchises. Lucknow has a fruitful opportunity in front of them to pick some valuable cricketers from across the world ahead of the highly anticipated IPL 2022 mega auction. The Goenka group bagged the Lucknow team for Rs 7090 crore.