The Dream11 is here to stay as the Indian Premier League title sponsor till 2022. But there is a rider. The IPL title at present was vacant only till December 31, 2020. The leading fantasy sports platform has bagged that “clear deal” for ₹ 222 crores.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India did not float invitation to invite tender and the deal was decided through expressions of interests. SportzFront has reliably learnt that Dream11 has submitted interest for the three-year period.
The BCCI and the brand during the meeting to discuss the financial bid today have “in-principle agreed” on the “extended offer”.
A source in the know of the Dream11 offer has revealed that the Dream Sports-owned brand has committed to continue as the IPL title sponsor for the next two seasons if Vivo decides to exit the deal.
Vivo had retained the IPL title sponsorship for a whopping ₹ 2,199 crores for a five-year period from 2018 to 2022.
The BCCI and the Chinese mobile handset manufacturer earlier this month had agreed to “pause the deal for the IPL 2020” due to the rising anti-China sentiment in the country in the aftermath of the standoff in the Galwan Valley.
The BCCI in compensation for the “paused year” had extended Vivo’s contract till 2023. However, there is no certainty if the Chinese brand will be back to honour its ₹ 440-crore per annum deal as the IPL Season 14 is expected to return in March next year.
Dream11 has, revealed the source, rode this uncertainty to ensure and extension of its contract if the Vivo deal is crashed.
The offer on the table for the next two seasons is said to be ₹ 240 crores per annum. With the IPL title price tag falling by over 50% and the market collapsing miserably, Vivo will in all likelihood be looking for reasons to get the ₹ 440-crore IPJ jumbo off its back.