Suresh Raina has decided to end his long association with Rhiti Sports Management, which is owned by a friend of MS Dhoni. Raina has now signed a three-year, Rs 35 crore contract with IOS Sports and Entertainment to manage his endorsement deals.
"I won't be the No. 2 player in this new company," said Raina, who currently has only one endorsement contract, with Adidas, for three years. His other deals, like with a UP-based real estate company, have ended.
It had emerged two years back that Dhoni owned a 15% stake in Rhiti, leading to the cricketer facing a conflict-of-interest issue. The company had clarified soon after that India's ODI captain was only a shareholder for a short period and no longer had a stake.
IOS will now manage Raina's endorsements and brand associations, corporate profile, patents and digital rights, images, visibility on social networking sites and merchandise. "I have been observing the company doing very interesting work for Olympic sportspersons," Raina said. "I believe IOS had all requisite credentials I needed. Importantly, they have a passionate and dedicated team which understands space and comfort that a sportsperson needs."
Raina is the first cricketer signed by IOS, which manages the likes of Vijender Singh, Mary Kom, Sushil Kumar and Saina Nehwal, among others.The 28-year-old left-handed allrounder said, "Brands only come when you perform on the field."
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