If there is one thing in India that is bigger than Sachin Tendulkar the cricketer, it is Sachin Tendulkar the brand. Tendulkar may have his highs and lows as a cricketer, but as a commercial phenomenon, he just goes on relentlessly breaking new ground. His latest venture: in a move unparalleled for an active cricketer, Tendulkar signed a deal with television powerhouse ESPN-Star Sports, which will have him represent them as a brand ambassador. The deal is reportedly worth US$ 2.5 million - more money than Tendulkar has earned from actually playing cricket in his entire career.

The timing of this deal is interesting. Just a week ago, Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a much-awaited system within which the 20 top cricketers in the country would get centralised annual contracts from the board and would, effectively, be employed by it. Naturally, their contract with the board would supersede any other contracts they may have. And any contract signed after the BCCI contracts come into effect might well have to abide by certain guidelines the BCCI sets. ESPN-Star will no longer have to worry about that.

This raises interesting questions about the contract system itself. Worthy as it, how will it actually be implemented in practice? Top players earn far more from endorsements than from cricket itself. Even if they do get those endorsements because of their status as cricketers, can the board legitimately demand to be their primary employer? Sachin's contract with WorldTel is bound to become central to his relations with the board, considering that it is worth so much more – US$ 17.5 million – than he will ever earn on the playing field. The BCCI recently – and correctly – stopped some Indian players from going to shoot commercials in South Africa during the break between the tours to West Indies and England. Such endorsements are at the heart of Sachin's deal with WorldTel.

There is no way the BCCI will be able to impose itself on Tendulkar. He is, in India, bigger than the game itself. In a nation obsessed with celebrities but starved of legitimate heroes, he is a demi-god who towers over his sport, and as a brand, has an existence almost independent of cricket. Just as Amitabh Bachchan will be Bollywood's biggest name even if he never makes another good film – as he hasn't for a decade-and-a-half – Tendulkar will be India's biggest brand name even if he never makes another century (unlikely though that event is). Reastaurants are due to open bearing his name, television shows will be built and sold around his presence and his franchise will make him rich as no cricketer could ever have hoped to be a generation ago.

The biggest question in all this concerns the man himself. With so many varied commercial interests, can he keep his hunger for the game going? It would be unfair to speculate otherwise, or to grudge him his commercial success. But one thing is for sure: Tendulkar shall become even more omnipresent in our lives than he has been in the past. Keep that television on.

Amit Varma is assistant editor of Wisden.com in India.

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