Cash ahoy: Raft of sponsorship deals rake in the silver for Scotland's golden Olympic cycling champion

HE'S Scotland's most decorated athlete and a genuine national hero.

Now Olympic cycling champion Chris Hoy is about to turn gold into cash after signing a string of lucrative sponsorship deals.

Edinburgh-born Hoy became one of the hottest properties in world sport after winning three gold medals in imperious style at the Beijing Olympic Games last summer.

The 32-year-old cycling superstar is now believed to have already pocketed £1.6m in sponsorship deals in a total expected to rise to £2m by Christmas.

Hoy will star in TV adverts, make public appearances and produce branded products to promote the companies he signed with.

Scotland on Sunday can reveal that Hoy has:

&149 a one-year deal with ScottishPower Renewables, promoting wind farms;

&149 a two-year deal as a British ambassador for phone company BT, making personal appearances and featuring in advertising for one of the sponsors of the London Olympics in 2012;

&149 a four-year deal with Sky+ HD as a member of an elite cycling team sponsored by the media company;

&149 a two-year deal starring in TV advertisements for Kellogg's Bran Flakes, with an option to continue for another two years;

&149 a deal to lend his name to 100 limited-edition BMX bikes to go on sale in Harrods for Christmas;

&149 the loan of a £70,000 Jaguar XKR to drive around in, with a view to developing a longer-term arrangement;

The new deals come on top of Hoy's one-year contract with Highland Spring and an agreement with property developer Obelisk International – which sold Hoy a property in Brazil – bringing his total sponsorship deals so far to an estimated total of £1.65m.

Hoy is believed to have been earning around £24,000 a year from lottery grants and small-scale sponsorships before the Olympics.

His spokesman, Ricky Cowan, who brokered the new deals, said: "There is a big difference between what he was earning before the Olympics and now. The amount he is paid for each deal is based around the amount of time Chris has to give up. We are talking significant sums of money where lawyers are involved. It's most definitely lucrative, but everybody has said this is the time for him to do it as he is the first athlete to do what he's done in 100 years.

"He's also polite, educated, approachable and has a great presence, which has made it much easier to negotiate these deals. He's hugely admired and held in a whole lot of regard by athletes of all disciplines."

Cowan added that Hoy was keen to take on sponsorship, but cycling came first. "We didn't turn anything down, but mostly it's about the amount of time they are asking Chris to give up," he said.

"One company wanted to do an advert with him in December, but it was a case of apologising and saying that Chris is in intense training at that point, with three big events coming up at the beginning of next year, including the World Cup in March."

Hoy is set to sign more deals before Christmas, one of which is expected to be a more lucrative re-negotiation with current sponsor Adidas.

Cowan revealed that Hoy will also do after-dinner speaking engagements after next year's World Cup in Manchester, which could earn him up to £10,000 an appearance, and possibly more if he wins another gold at the World Cup.

Publicity expert Keith Impey, of sports communications company Havas Sports, speculated on Hoy's sponsorship income so far.

"The deal values will range from £50,000 to £150,000 each per year," he said. "Hoy is right to strike while the publicity trail is hot as many old famous athletes are not in demand today."

But he added: "Overexposure could be a potential issue. Any exposure will not devalue his appeal but it might put off a sponsor from becoming his 10th partner for fear of dilution to them.

"But Chris's brand will be built by additional exposure as long as sponsors and their messages are relevant to his personality and performances. Chris is obviously professional and dedicated so will ensure these commitments do not impact on his training."

Although Hoy will be promoting ScottishPower's campaign for alternative energy wind farms, he will be driving a £70,000 Jaguar XKR. The car is in the 'worst' category on the European table of carbon emissions, churning out 294 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre.

A spokeswoman from Friends of the Earth Scotland said Hoy had done a "brilliant job" promoting cycling as a non-polluting means of transport, but she was disappointed in his choice of Jaguar.

She said: "Jaguars are quite polluting cars, much higher than the minimum standard. He has chosen to go for a particularly polluting one.

"While we think the promotion of wind farms is fantastic, we would encourage him to do more of that work to benefit the environment. When Chris Hoy can go so fast on a bike, what does he need a fast car for?"

How the deal measures up

Other sports stars with lucrative endorsements include:

Tiger Woods (golf) – £46.2m of endorsements a year for Nike, Buick, Gillette, Gatorade

Maria Sharapova (tennis) – £17.4m of endorsements a year for Pepsi, Colgate-Palmolive, Nike and Motorola.

David Beckham (football) – £12.85m worth of endorsements a year for Adidas, Coty, Gillette, Pepsi, Police, Vodafone

Lewis Hamilton (Formula 1) – £10m worth of endorsements in his first year for Vodafone, Hugo Boss, Tag Heuer, Santander

Wayne Rooney (football) – £2.07m of endorsements a year for Coke, EA Sports, Nike

Andrew Flintoff (cricket) – £650,000 of endorsements a year for Barclays Capital, Red Bull, Woodworm cricket bats (recently terminated)