Australian cricketer Mitchell Johnson's Ashes heroics are "set to reap the reborn superstar a multimillion-dollar payday through potentially lucrative deals on and off the field," according to Andrew Wu of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Johnson, whose "hot streak has Australia on the verge of reclaiming the urn, is likely to be given a hefty pay rise by Cricket Australia in the next contract period and will also be high on the wish list of many Indian Premier League franchises." Australia has a "quiet winter next year, paving the way" for Johnson to play the whole of the Indian Premier League. It will help "drive his price up" from the $300,000 paid by Mumbai Indians in early '12, "when the paceman was injured and out of form." One IPL source said that the "32-year-old could fetch a price" equivalent to the A$1M ($920,000) mark. Johnson's manager, Sam Halvorsen, is expecting "prospective sponsors to come knocking early next year and has hired an agent in India to explore opportunities on the subcontinent." Johnson "parted ways with long-time partners underwear brand Jockey and shoe suppliers Betts but currently holds deals with Asics, Spartan Sports and industrial supply company Blackwoods." Halvorsen: "I'd expect we'd receive a bit of interest in the new year, especially if he keeps performing well and we end up winning the Ashes -- that would have an impact." Sports media and marketing analyst Michael Blucher, who recently released a book into the sports industry, "believes Johnson has captured the public's imagination." Blucher said, "It's not just what he's done but how he's gone about it -- the rallying of the nation, the sheer aggression" (SMH, 12/11).
