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Why sponsors kept changing for Team India after Star? Can Apollo Tyres end the trend? Explained with top 3 biggest deals
Apollo Tyres has secured the front-of-shirt sponsorship for Team India until March 2028, valued at ₹579 crore, exceeding Dream11’s previous deal.
Apollo Tyres has won the race to be Team India’s new front-of-shirt sponsor till March 2028. Sources have revealed this deal to be valued at around ₹579 crore, well surpassing Dream11’s ₹358 crore deal. Notably, Dream11’s contract (2023-26) was terminated prematurely owing to the new Online Gaming legislation that effectively prohibited real-money gaming in India.
With this deal surpassing the previous sponsors by about 62%, here is a look at the top three jersey sponsor deals that the BCCI has secured so far.
India Jersey: Top 3 All-time deals (by total value)
1. Oppo (2017-22), ₹1,079 crore: This was a five-year deal, which was subsequently transferred to BYJU’S in 2019 under similar commercial terms.
2. Apollo Tyres (2025-28), ₹579 crore: The incoming lead sponsor will be commanding around ₹4.5 - ₹4.8 crore per match across the contract period.
3. Sahara (2005-09 cycle), ₹435 crore actually disbursed: The original contract stood at ₹ 313 crore, but additional fixtures of the team raised the final payout. Sahara renewed the contract in 2010 at ₹3.34 crore per match till 2013.
Why Apollo Tyres might end the streak of breaking sponsors since Star
Following the seamless exit of Star India after they sponsored the jersey from 2013 to 2017, three successive title sponsors aligned with India’s technology and start-up boom before their terms ended abruptly.
Oppo (consumer technology) ended up giving the rights to BYJU’S mid-term in 2019. This was a part of their strategic withdrawal from the costly brand-building initiatives.
BYJU’S (ed-tech unicorn) secured an extension in 2022 at approximately 10% higher per-match rates. But the funding winter that soon followed and corporate restructuring led to their early departure in 2023.
Dream11 (real-money gaming/fantasy) did not face cash flow constraints, but it had to leave because of regulatory exposure. The 2025 legislation prohibiting the promotion and sponsorship of real-money gaming in India forced their abrupt and early withdrawal.
Essentially, post-Star sponsors have predominantly represented growth, regulation-sensitive, or unit-economics challenged concerns. When capital cycles contracted or legislation shifted, the jersey sponsorship became untenable.
Apollo’s distinction: It represents a mature, publicly-listed, cash-generative manufacturer with already established brand investment in other sports (football and motosport). There is stability in their balance sheet, which aligns with BCCI’s recent protocols around bidding for the sponsorship that excluded crypto/RMG while elevating the baseline price per match. If Apollo approaches this deal as a brand-equity compounding strategy, then the logo should remain secure till the end of the term, i.e., 2028.
