England cricket star Andrew Flintoff, who debuts for the Chennai Super Kings later this week in the IPL, has been handed a lucrative new endorsement deal by deodorant brand Sure Men Sport.

Flintoff, who will earn US$250,000 per week during his time with the IPL side, will pocket an estimated 20 per cent of the US$4.5 million Sure's parent company Unilever is investing in its cricket-based advertising campaign. That will include print, online and radio adverts as well as advertising space in grounds during this summer's Ashes series, which will be shown live around the world.

"The Ashes is the biggest home sporting event of the year and is perfect fit with the Sure Men Sport target audience," said Louise Brunt, senior category manager at Unilever. "We expect the huge support for the re-launch to really drive sales and average weight of purchase as well as brand awareness."

The deal is another example of the increasing wealth on offer to cricket's biggest stars. Flintoff also has a multi-million dollar contract with sportswear brand Puma, which runs for the next four years.