Steve Smith and David Warner are set to lose millions after resigning in disgrace as Australia’s most senior international cricket players.
The former captain and vice-captain of the Test team were already on high base salaries of $2 million and $1.4 million before the ball tampering scandal in South Africa was revealed on Saturday.
Now the pair are set to lose millions of dollars in endorsements, following their sanctions from the International Cricket Council.
Steve Smith (pictured) and David Warner are set to lose millions after resigning in disgrace as Australia’s most senior international cricket players
Steve was Cricket Australia’s most marketable player, and was the face of Weet Bix television commercials.
He was also the face of American footwear giant New Balance, which last year made him its ‘global ambassador’.
His former deputy Warner was also on a lucrative wicket, with his website listing a range of sponsors, including Nestle Milo, Toyota, footwear maker ASIC and Korean electronics giant LG.
The former Test captain and vice-captain of the Test team were already on high base salaries of $2 million and $1.4 million before the ball tampering scandal in South Africa was revealed.
He had fronted television endorsements for rival Korean television manufacturer Samsung, fronting the Oled TV campaign.
However, there’s more financial pain to come for Smith and Warner with Cricket Australia’s biggest sponsor Magellan, a fund management group, indicating they were appalled at the ball tampering scandal.
‘We’re deeply concerned about it: it involves cheating, in no way would we condone it in what we do,’ Magellan fund manager Hamish Douglass told The Australian Financial Review.
Toyota, which sponsors David Warner, said it was confident Cricket Australia would take ‘appropriate steps to resolve this matter as quickly as possible’.
David Warner was on a lucrative wicket, with his website listing a range of sponsors, including Nestle Milo, Toyota, footwear maker ASIC and Korean electronics giant LG
‘We can also confirm that David Warner is currently a Toyota Australia ambassador and we have no intention of changing our agreement with David Warner at this time,’ a spokesman said.
Key Cricket Australia sponsor Qantas, whose flying kangaroo logo is emblazoned on the jerseys of the Test team, described the scandal as ‘deeply disappointing’.
The Commonwealth Bank said it had requested a ‘full explanation from Cricket Australia following the conclusion of its investigation into this affair’.
Cricket Australia is also renegotiating a media deal, with the existing $600 million, five-year agreement with the Nine and Ten networks to expire at the end of this year.
Brand reputation specialist Jim Stiliadis, of Six O’Clock Advisory, said sponsorship contracts had ‘disrepute’ clauses.
‘The major sponsors would be reassessing their positions with regard to the specifics of their contracts with the players, such as disrepute clauses. But they are likely to do nothing until they know the outcome of Cricket Australia’s investigation,’ he told The Australian.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted New Balance and other sponsors for comment.