Team India world's most expensive

Nike has won a Rs 196.66 crore (Rs 1.966 billion) bid to sponsor the Indian cricket team's clothes for the next five years.

Close on the heels of Rs 313 crore (Rs 3.13 billion) sponsorship deal with Air Sahara, the announcement has made the Indian cricket team the most valuable sports team, ahead even of Europe's football clubs.

"This is a landmark deal," said Lalit Modi, vice-president, Board of Control for Cricket in India.

"Because this deal represents the first structured licensing programme by the BCCI, the Indian team will earn around Rs 122.5 crore ($27.12 million) a year. This will put us ahead of football club Juventus, which at $22.8 million is the current number one."

Members of the Indian team will wear only Nike items on the field. The Nike logo will feature on the sleeves of the players' non-leading arm (the leading arm spot being already taken by the main sponsor Air Sahara).

Nike will also become the official apparel provider to the Indian team and has got the licence to sell Indian team merchandise like travel gear, head gear, T-shirts, caps, socks, sunglasses and wristbands across the world.

"We were looking for a partner who could bring in cutting edge innovation in apparel and footwear," Modi said.

Nike, which beats Adidas and Reebok, offered a significantly higher guarantee of royalty to the BCCI from the sale of team merchandise. The BCCI, which had insisted on getting at least 9 per cent of the total revenue from such sales, has been promised Rs 67.5 crore (Rs 675 million) by the US company, more than twice its competitors guaranteed.

Nike had also set a much lower price of Rs 36.2 crore (Rs 362 million) for the merchandise it will provide the team over the next five years. The other two bidders had quoted Rs 60 crore (Rs 60 million) and Rs 65 crore (Rs 650 million). It will also pay the BCCI a sponsorship fee of Rs 10 lakh (Rs 100,000) for every match.

Modi said the exercise to auction the official merchandise was part of the board's efforts to maximise gains. "Last time, we got Rs 8.5 crore (Rs 85 million) for the logo on the non-leading arm. This time, the sponsorship deal alone is worth at least Rs 96 crore (Rs 960 million)," he said.

He also said the BCCI was on the lookout for other ways to generate revenue and would soon auction telecast rights. "We are also looking at product merchandising, ground sponsorship and other licensing," Modi said.