Manu Bhaker, approached by 40 brands for endorsements, raises fee from Rs 20 Lakh to millions

Undisputedly the face of India’s shooter contingent for a few years now, Manu Bhaker has seen his popularity skyrocket. Bhaker already has two medals to his credit, having won bronze twice – in the individual 10m air pistol and mixed team events – and is about to win a third in the 25m air pistol event. Courtesy of his twin medals so far, a report revealed that the pistol shooter has been approached by over 40 brands for endorsements. Although Manu’s focus is still on the Paris Olympic Games, his agency has already closed some deals, worth millions.

Manu used to charge a fee of INR 20-25 lakh for each endorsement, but now the charges have increased by 6-7 times. A deal in the range of INR 1.5 crore has already been closed.

“We have received around 40 inquiries in the last 2-3 days alone. We are now focusing on long-term association deals and have closed a few endorsements,” said Neerav Tomar, CEO and MD of IOS Sports & Entertainment, the company that manages Manu, for India Times.

Extremely moved by the support and wishes they have received. This is something I’ve always dreamed of. Proud to perform on the biggest stage in my country pic.twitter.com/8U6sHOLulR

-Manu Bhaker (@realmanubhaker) July 30, 2024

“The value of their brand, of course, has increased five to six times. So, whatever we did earlier was around Rs 20-25 lakhs, now it has come down to around Rs 1.5 crore for an endorsement deal. This is kind of a one-year commitment to a brand category exclusively.”

While long-term endorsements remain the main focus of Manu’s team, some short-term endorsements are also lined up.

“There are also a lot of short-term digital engagement queries – 1 month, 3 months. But we are focusing on long-term deals,” she added.

“At the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, we won a lot of medals in shooting. But then that just disappears. At the Olympics, you stand out, and with two medals you just completely outshine,” he added.

From the despair of the Tokyo Olympics, Manu Bhaker appears to be on his way to becoming a national sporting brand, just like Neeraj Chopra, whose gold medal at the last Olympic Games made him an icon.