Virat Kohli has been part of the IPL since the very first ball was bowled. From the inaugural season in 2008 to IPL 2025, he has played every single edition for one team: Royal Challengers Bangalore. No other active player has done that.
His salary history is a story of how a ₹12 lakh U19 draft pick turned into the highest-paid player in IPL history. Here is a full breakdown, season by season.
Virat Kohli: Total IPL Earnings
Across 18 IPL seasons (2008 to 2025), Kohli has earned an estimated ₹179.70 crore from the IPL. His IPL 2025 salary alone stands at ₹21 crore, making him the first Indian cricketer to cross the ₹20 crore mark in the league.
Here is a season-by-season breakdown:
| Year | Team | Salary (INR) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹12 lakh |
| 2009 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹12 lakh |
| 2010 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹12 lakh |
| 2011 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹8.28 crore |
| 2012 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹8.28 crore |
| 2013 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹8.28 crore |
| 2014 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹12.5 crore |
| 2015 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹12.5 crore |
| 2016 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹12.5 crore |
| 2017 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹12.5 crore |
| 2018 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹17 crore |
| 2019 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹17 crore |
| 2020 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹17 crore |
| 2021 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹17 crore |
| 2022 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹15 crore |
| 2023 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹15 crore |
| 2024 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹15 crore |
| 2025 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹21 crore |
| 2026 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | ₹21 crore |
How It All Started: 2008 to 2010
Royal Challengers Bangalore picked up Kohli from the U19 Player Draft ahead of IPL 2008. He had just led India to the U19 World Cup title and was seen as a bright young talent. The franchise paid ₹12 lakh for his services.
He stayed at that salary for three straight seasons. His debut year was shaky. He scored 165 runs across 12 innings and was still finding his feet in T20 cricket. But the franchise backed him throughout.
By 2010, Kohli was already making a case for himself at the international level. He was growing into a reliable middle-order batter, and RCB clearly saw his long-term value.
The Rise: 2011 to 2013
Ahead of the 2011 season, RCB retained Kohli and gave him a massive salary jump to ₹8.28 crore. The franchise built its entire squad around him. This was a huge statement of intent.
Kohli delivered. He became a consistent performer and earned the trust of the team management. In 2013, RCB appointed him the franchise’s full-time captain. His salary stayed at ₹8.28 crore through 2011, 2012, and 2013.
Captaincy and A Bigger Contract: 2014 to 2017
In 2014, Kohli’s salary went up to ₹12.5 crore per season. He had now established himself as India’s premier batter across all formats and was leading RCB with intent.
He stayed at ₹12.5 crore through 2015, 2016, and 2017. The 2016 season was the standout. Kohli scored 973 runs in a single IPL season, a record that still stands today. He hit four centuries and took RCB to the final. They lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad, but his performance that season was exceptional.
Despite that record-breaking year, his salary did not change mid-cycle. The pay rise came in the next retention window.
The Highest-Paid Player In IPL: 2018 to 2021
Ahead of the 2018 IPL mega auction, RCB retained Kohli at ₹17 crore per season. That number made him the highest-paid player in the league at the time. It was a direct reward for his 2016 heroics and his consistent contributions to the franchise.
He stayed at ₹17 crore through the 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 seasons. These were mixed years for RCB. They reached the final in 2016 but could not get back to those heights. Kohli stepped down from T20I captaincy for India after the 2021 T20 World Cup. He also announced his retirement from captaincy at RCB after that season.
The Voluntary Pay Cut: 2022 to 2024
The 2022 IPL featured a mega auction, in which teams rebuilt their squads from scratch. RCB retained Kohli, but he took a voluntary pay cut, agreeing to a salary of ₹15 crore per season. He stepped away from captaincy and handed the role to Faf du Plessis, choosing to focus purely on his batting.
It was a smart move. Kohli’s run-scoring in this period was strong. In the 2024 season, he scored 741 runs and won the Orange Cap, finishing as the highest run-scorer of the tournament. His salary stayed at ₹15 crore through 2022, 2023, and 2024.
The pay cut was not a sign of reduced value. It was a strategic decision that gave RCB more room to build a stronger squad around him.
IPL 2025: A Record-Breaking Retention
Ahead of IPL 2025, RCB retained Kohli as their top priority. They secured him at ₹21 crore per season, a three-year deal that runs through IPL 2027. This made him the first Indian player in IPL history to earn a salary of ₹20 crore or more.
RCB also handed him back the captaincy for 2025. So Kohli enters this cycle as the franchise leader once again, now on the biggest contract of his IPL career.
The ₹21 crore figure reflects everything he brings to the table: record runs, brand equity, fan pull, and leadership experience. His total IPL earnings now stand at an estimated ₹179.70 crore across 18 seasons.
IPL 2026: Championship Defense and Expanded Horizons
The IPL 2026 season is scheduled to kick off on March 26 and run through May 31, featuring an expanded format with 84 matches. Following their historic maiden title win in 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) enter the tournament as defending champions and are set to host the season opener at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. For Virat Kohli, the 2026 season carries a personal sense of fulfillment and legacy; having been retained for a record ₹21 crore, he has publicly reiterated his commitment to the franchise, famously stating he will play for RCB until his “last day in the IPL.” After achieving his long-standing goal of bringing a trophy to Bengaluru last year, his primary focus for 2026 is to defend the title and solidify a winning culture under the likely new leadership of Rajat Patidar.
Endorsements and Net Worth
Kohli endorses more than 30 major brands, including Puma, MRF, Audi, Manyavar, Noise, and HSBC India. He charges between ₹7.5 crore and ₹10 crore per day for brand shoots. Some reports estimate his endorsement earnings at around ₹200 crore per year.
He also owns and co-owns several businesses, including the One8 sportswear brand in partnership with Puma, the One8 Commune restaurant chain, and WROGN (a fashion brand). He has also invested in Digit Insurance, Blue Tribe Foods, Chisel Fitness, and other startups. He holds a 12% stake in FC Goa in the Indian Super League.
His net worth as of 2025 sits at around ₹1,050 crore, making him the richest cricketer in India and one of the highest-paid athletes in the world.
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Conclusion: Kohli’s IPL Journey Started at ₹12 Lakh and Has Reached ₹21 Crore
That is a jump of over 175 times from his first contract to his current one. No other IPL player has stayed with a single franchise through 18 seasons and built this kind of financial and on-field legacy.
He is the all-time leading run-scorer in IPL history with over 8,000 runs, eight centuries, and 55 half-centuries. His numbers on and off the field tell the same story: consistent, elite, and still going strong.
RCB may not have won an IPL title yet. But Kohli’s value to the franchise, both in runs and in brand worth, has never been in doubt. The ₹21 crore salary heading into 2025 is not just a number. It is a statement of where he stands in the league’s history.
