Major League Cricket: The intriguing details behind San Francisco’s marquee signing of Pat Cummins

The finer details behind San Francisco’s marquee signing of Pat Cummins has industry figures taking interest, as the Australian skipper joins several major Aussie names at Major League Cricket.

Pat Cummins’ groundbreaking Major League Cricket deal has raised eyebrows against a backdrop of confusion around the competition’s contracting rules.

The Australian Test captain was unveiled last month as a marquee signing for MLC’s San Francisco Unicorns for the 2024 season, which will be held this month.

While the club did not specify the length of the deal, it was billed as “long-term” by Unicorns co-owner Anand Rajaraman and widely reported to be for four years, which would have tied Cummins to San Francisco until the end of the 2027 season.

This was despite widespread understanding within club and player agent circles that teams could only sign players to single-year deals across the competition’s first three seasons, albeit with an option to retain players to their existing contract terms at the completion of each of the first two seasons.

No more guessing needed 🙌

The Golden Boy of Australian Cricket is a Unicorn 🇦🇺

The current ICC and Wisden Cricketer of the Year will be repping the Bay for #MLC2024 🌉#SFUnicorms#GoCorns#CognizantMajorLeagueCricket#PatCumminspic.twitter.com/MZIusY4URE

— San Francisco Unicorns (@SFOUnicorns) June 4, 2024

Industry sources confirmed clubs thought the contracting system would be reviewed after the 2025 season and there would be the prospect of most or all players again being put up for grabs at that point.

However, three sources confirmed Cummins’ deal had been approved by the league.

The paceman’s long-time manager Neil Maxwell said it was imperative that an expanding league be flexible enough to entice a player of Cummins’ quality and marketability.

“This is about the growth of a league,” Maxwell said. “In the case of MLC, the clubs own the league.

“So attracting the best players in the world only adds to the enterprise value of a privatised competition.

“Unlike the BBL (Big Bash League), where there is no tangible incentive for the clubs to grow the league.”

Four of the six MLC franchises are aligned with Indian Premier League clubs, while San Francisco and Washington Freedom have affiliations with Cricket Victoria and Cricket NSW respectively.

Welcome 🏠, @stevesmith49 ❤️#MLC2024#WashingtonFreedom#[e-mail]/hSh5KxcRgU

— Washington Freedom (@WSHFreedom) June 29, 2024

Cummins joins a raft of top Aussies in this year’s MLC. Steve Smith, Travis Head and Glenn Maxwell have signed to play under Ricky Ponting at Washington.

Cummins unashamedly spoke of MLC’s commercial opportunities when explaining his decision to sign with the Unicorns.

“MLC is developing at a rapid rate and the US market potential is huge for cricket,” Cummins said.

“While cricket is integral to my involvement, the global network and long-term possibilities offered by the owners specifically, and Silicon Valley more broadly, presented a unique opportunity for me and my life beyond cricket.”

Cummins’ availability for the 2025 season is unclear given Australia is due to tour the West Indies next June and July.

The 2027 Ashes tour would also theoretically clash with MLC.

Originally published as Major League Cricket: The intriguing details behind San Francisco’s marquee signing of Pat Cummins