Pat Cummins set to become Cricket Australia’s first $3 million man

Pat Cummins will become the first player to earn $3 million a year from a Cricket Australia contract while fellow captain Meg Lanning could earn $1 million a year under a new pay deal announced on Monday.

The duo were the headline names, but the deal represented a significant rise in pay across the board for Australia’s women and Big Bash players, in what Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley described as a “war for talent.”

$3million man: Pat Cummins.Credit: Getty

Professional women cricketers will receive a 66 percent pay rise, and the average contract for Australia’s male players will rise to almost $1 million a year under a five-year memorandum of understanding between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association.

Cricket Australia male contracts will rise 7.5 per cent in the first year, then 2 per cent a year for the following four years, giving Cummins a retainer of more than $2 million and total Cricket Australia earnings of $3 million.

Under the new women’s agreement, the top CA contract holder on a WBBL deal can earn more than $800,000 a year, with the capacity to break the $1 million mark with further earnings in the Women’s Premier League (India) and The Hundred (UK).

The next six CA contract holders will have the potential to earn, on average, $500,000 annually when combined with a WBBL retainer and earnings from other competitions.

Meg Lanning and Ashleigh Gardner in the T20 World Cup final in February.Credit: Getty Images

Under growing pressure from a rising number of franchise Twenty20 leagues, Cricket Australia doubled the amount top male BBL players can earn to about $420,000, with the salary cap rising from $2 million to $3 million per club.

The private negotiations between CA chief executive Nick Hockley and ACA chief executive Todd Greenberg were a far cry from the acrimonious 2017 dealings, which tore the game apart.

“There is a war for talent out there and in many ways I think Australian sport has been leading the way in terms of opportunities for women and girls,” Hockley said.

CA chairman Mike Baird described the agreement as an historic day for Australian cricket.

Cricket’s pay deal: The highlights

Male players

• Cricket Australia contracted payments will increase by 7.5% then 2% per annum.
• Captain Pat Cummins’ retainer will rise above $2 million and total payments to $3 million.
• Average player payments will rise to $950,000 and top $1 million by end of agreement.

Big Bash

• Salary cap with rise from $2 million to $3 million per club.
• Top player payments will double to about $420,000.
• Average retainers increase more than 50%  to about $167,000.
• Minimum retainers increase by more than 20%.

Female players

• 66% increase in payments to national and state women cricketers.
• Captain Meg Lanning can earn $800,000 from Cricket Australia, and over $1 million with WPL. (India) and The Hundred (UK).
• The next six CA contract holders will have the potential to earn on average $500,000.
• Domestic players in both WNCL (50 over) and WBBL (T20) formats more than double average. payments to over $151,000.
• Parental Leave Policy improved. Guaranteed contracts, retainers and match fees.

“We’re proud today with what we’ve seen for the women’s game, a significant uplift to provide a pathway that other sports in Australia can only dream of, and we’ve also maintained a commercial position for our men players to compete with the best in the world,” Baird said at the SCG.

Player payments for Australia’s all-conquering women’s squad – which holds the Ashes, 50-over and Twenty20 World Cups and created history by winning gold at last year’s Commonwealth Games – will rise from $80 million to $133 million over the term of the agreement.

This will include significant increases in Women’s Big Bash League and state contracts. Those who do not play for Australia but compete in the Women’s National Cricket League and WBBL will average more than $150,000 annually, including match fees.

Average men’s BBL retainers will increase by more than 50 per cent  next season to more than $160,000. The minimum retainer will increase by more than 20 per cent.

Hockey was confident the doubling of the top BBL club retainers to $420,000 would protect the league from overseas T20 competitors during Australia’s peak summer season.

“Certainly with these additional funds and the 50 per cent uplift, there are some arrangements in place to make sure the top players within each of the different BBL lists, we’re prioritising to make sure playing in the Big Bash is the destination for them,” Hockley said.

BBL matches will reduce from 14 to 10 per club annually, probably as soon as the coming season, which will result in a doubling of pay per match.

“With those levels, we think it makes it a really competitive proposition for domestic and overseas players,” Hockley said.

Overall, players will share $634 million over five years, a 26 percent increase from an equivalent value ($502 million) shared under the current agreement, plus a performance pool of $57 million.

The number of CA men’s contracts will rise from a range of 17-20 up to 20-24, recognising the increasing number of players selected across various formats, while the number of CA women’s contracts will increase from 15 to 18.

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