A few days ago Nike released the official Indian kit for the 2015 Cricket World Cup which is pretty impressive and comes with high tech material which fit every player to perfection and it uses a plastic recycling technology where on average 33 plastic bottles are recycled to make 1 kit (shirt and trouser) and you can see the official pictures of Indian 2015 world cup kit here.
But did you know how much BCCI (Indian Cricket Board) get paid from Nike to have them as official kit suppliers for the national cricket team ? well you might be surprised but BCCI landed one of the most lucrative kit deals in history of sports when they signed with Nike back in 2005. When BCCI signed a 5 year deal worth $45 million from 2005 to 2009 and extended a further two years till 2011 to include world cup 2011 in the original deal. Indian cricket team went on to win the world cup at home soil and they became the most sort out cricket team in the world.
After the 2011 world cup Nike had severe competition from the likes of Adidas, Reebok to get the all important Indian cricket kit deal but they managed to land another 5 year contract but different terms. In April 2011 the new contract was signed making Nike-India cricket kit deal to be the most expensive kit deal in cricket history. here are more details on the terms and contract.
| STARTING FROM | CONTRACT LENGTH | YEARLY | TOTAL |
| 2011 | 5 Years (2011-15) | $12.13 million a year | $60.66 million For 5 years |
Possible New Kit Deal Worth $100 million after World Cup 2015 ?
On the current Indian kit deal, Nike has the guaranteed right of first refusal in any subsequent negotiations which means Nike are in driving seat to extended the contract. But according to reports BCCI are looking for a long term (10 year) deal after the current kit deal expires at a higher incentive as Indian team is the most marketable side in world cricket.
That is where Adidas comes into play, Adidas tried to hijack the previous Nike deal with Indian cricket but failed as Nike had the first option to sign another contract but the competition means BCCI are in driving seat to exploit the marketability Indian team has to offer. According to “Times of India” if Indian were to win the 2015 world cup BCCI are looking to land at-least a 5 year deal worth atleast $100 million with either Adidas or Nike and according to reports Adidas are already in talks and willing to match BCCI demands but the ball is is still in Nike’s court has the have the first right of first refusal.
But how does current Nike-India cricket deal compares to of that some major football clubs ? well it comes short by a margin as Manchester United has the most lucrative deal with Adidas signed last year which is worth around $100 million a year. you can see the most expensive football kit deals in history here.