Rs 1 crore endorsement potential: Top women cricketers poised for massive payday after World Cup victory

When India’s women’s cricket team lifted their first ICC Women’s World Cup trophy in Navi Mumbai on November 2, the moment was instantly mythic. But this time, there is a new tension sitting right under the celebration. The world of advertising is finally paying attention. The market forces are finally interested. The question now is not whether brands will rush to sign these athletes. The question is whether this rush will convert into long term investment.

Because the data suggests this victory arrived at the exact right moment.

Even before the final, the ICC and broadcasters reported that this edition had broken almost every previous engagement benchmark. Early matches saw a five fold jump in unique viewers and billions of digital minutes consumed. The India Pakistan fixture set viewership records that were once considered unreachable for women’s cricket.

Higher viewership always leads to higher pricing power. In the weeks leading into the semifinals, industry notes tracked rising advertiser demand. Some market estimates pointed to 40 to 50 percent higher ad rates compared to previous cycles. This is not awareness. This is proof of commercial value.

And the smartest marketers are already positioning themselves.

The brand fit is there. The discipline to stay is the real test.

Media industry veteran Partha Sinha believes, "What brands do next will depend less on the win and more on how long media keeps the spotlight alive." He warns that post victory euphoria is not proof of structural change. “The real test isn’t the number of brand deals after the win, it’s how many stay a year later when the applause fades. India still treats women athletes as social messages, not market forces. That is what needs to change.”

According to cultural strategist, Shubhranshu Singh, the real cultural breakthrough will be when India stops calling women’s victories historic and starts calling them normal. “The real task is not only to glorify struggle. It is to normalise their excellence. When a woman’s victory is no longer called historic, progress will have arrived. When her presence on the podium feels a part of the normal, equality will become real.”

Individual money can actually move very fast.

Ambika Sharma, Founder and Chief Strategist, Pulp Strategy, expects endorsement demand to spike sharply at the top tier. She points to Jemimah Rodrigues whose endorsement catalogue already includes Red Bull, Hyundai, Gillette, Dream11, HMD, boAt and Platinum Evara. Sharma says: “She takes home around Rs 25 lakh per endorsement. From where she stands now, she might be looking at individual deals in the Rs 50 lakh range annually.” And if she becomes a consistent series face with stronger digital following, the number could cross one crore. “But there needs to be consistency on the field and how she manages her off field brand presence,” she adds.

But is this mainstreaming or is this a spike.

Aryan Anurag, Co Founder BingeLabs, believes the industry should stay realistic about cycles. “Women’s cricket is in a spike right now. But that spike also dips. With every spike, the dip becomes less and less.” He says only the top players will sustain deals immediately. “In the next few days, of course there will be a lot of brand deals. But maximum in the next two to three months, it will cool off. Those who will sustain will be the top players.” He believes this is how mainstreaming is built. Slowly. Spike by spike. The baseline rises, and eventually the market stabilises at a higher level.

How brands behave in this next phase will matter the most.

Ramya Ramachandran, Founder and CEO, Whoppl, expects a two to three times jump in inbound brand interest across FMCG, athleisure, fintech and beauty. She believes sustainability will depend on whether brands invest in narrative, not just celebration. “Instead of one off congratulatory campaigns, we need long term partnerships that build narrative. Think mentorship, lifestyle integrations, and digital content IPs that show them as personalities.”

Saurabh Parmar, fractional CMO, says the time to act is right now. “India winning the Women’s World Cup yesterday was incredible. Smart CEOs and CMOs, this is your moment. Now is the time to sign these players.” He even calls out names that could gain disproportionate advantage if they move early. “Campa Cola or Reliance, adidas or even Canva, who will move first?”

His logic is that women cricketers today offer a cleaner canvas for brand storytelling. “Unlike male cricketers who have been in the limelight, they don’t have a narrative built around them. Brands who partner now will get more ROI for every rupee spent.”

This is the hinge point. The attention is proven. The audience is proven. The emotion is proven. This World Cup delivered the perfect commercial test case. Now the market has to decide whether to treat women cricketers as a moment or a market.

If brands choose the second path, this World Cup will be remembered not just as a win. But as the precise year India rewired the economics of women’s sport.