Spartan dupes MS Dhoni of Rs.20 crore
Spartan Sports, whose bats MS Dhoni has been endorsing for almost three years now has duped him of Rs.20 crore. Arun Pandey of Rhiti Sports, which manages Dhoni's endorsements has said that the Australian company has not made their payments regularly. He said that only four cheques worth Rs.25 lakhs - Rs.30 lakhs were released and the last payment was done in March 2016.
Spartan Sports: An Overview
Spartan Sports is a developer of sports products and equipment. It is based in Australia and founded by Kunal Sharma. The company is part of Spartan International, founded in Jalandhar, India in 1953. It deals in various products for cricket, volleyball, rugby, football, etc. Cricketers like MS Dhoni, Chris Gayle, Mitchell Johnson and Sir Viv Richards are few of the ambassadors for the company.
MS Dhoni to endorse Spartan bats
Mahendra Singh Dhoni signed a three-year deal with Spartan Sports. He has been using the company's bats for a while. He will now sport the company's logo on his bats. A new line of bats, '7 by MSD' will also enter the market. Dhoni will earn approximately Rs.18-20 crore per year from the deal, including the royalty from the goods sold.
Sachin joins Spartan
Sachin Tendulkar joined Spartan International on 12th July 2016. He joined as an investor and also will be an adviser to the sports company to enhance the safety standards of Spartan's sporting equipment.
Legal action expected
Arun Pandey of Rhiti Sports said that they might take legal action against Spartan Sports. He added, "Everything is not smooth and hopefully the matter will be resolved soon."
Leading brand ambassador in sports
Dhoni has been very picky about the endorsements he has been doing. Pepsi, Maxx Mobiles, TVS Star City and Dabur Chyawanprash are few of the 15 brands that Dhoni is endorsing. He co-owns ISL team Chennaiyin FC and Hockey India League team Ranchi Rays. Dhoni featured in Forbes' top 100 World's highest paid athletes for the year 2015. He was ranked 23rd.
