Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the most successful cricketers in India. He was also the most sought after sportsman by marketers for brand endorsements - from consumer durable to automobile, retail and life insurance.
When he retired from international test cricket in mid-2014, there was not much impact on his brand value.
In 2016 Forbes list, he featured at the 10th spot and his net worth was around $31 million and brand endorsements formed a large part of it. He used to charge between Rs 8 crore and Rs 12 crore for each endorsement. His total annual earnings from brand endorsements were Rs 120 crore to Rs 150 crore at that time, according to estimates.
What will be the impact of his retirement from ODI cricket?
Once a player is not seen in the field his value goes down drastically. This is exactly what happened when Sachin Tendulkar retired.
A TAM AdEx data showed that the number of brands endorsed by Tendulkar dropped from 12 to four in one and a half months. It means that his income dropped at least proportionately if not more.
Can we expect similar decline in income for Dhoni? After all, companies like young emerging stars.