Burning $40m truth Pat Cummins can’t ignore as backlash exposed

Pat Cummins’ controversial sponsorship stand is coming back to bite the Aussie dressing room which suddenly has a pay dilemma.

Pat Cummins’ chickens appear to be coming home to roost.

The Aussie Test captain’s famous stand against the sport’s major sponsor, energy provider Alinta, sees Cricket Australia without a major sponsor beyond June.

Cummins last year voiced concerns about Alinta Energy’s parent company, Pioneer Sail Holdings, which has a track record of being a large carbon emitter.

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The so-called player-powered push-back against cricket’s biggest financial backer divided the country after it was revealed the 29-year-old expressed his reservations to Cricket Australia about the sponsorship deal on the eve of the Test summer.

However, Cummins in January rubbished the suggestions he was to blame for the $40 million deal being killed.

Cummins has repeatedly made public stands for environmental and climate change causes - often leaving him exposed to torrents of criticism.

He told Nine Newspapers at the time: “I hope that when we think of who we want to align with, who we want to invite into being part of cricket, I hope climate is a real priority.”

Alinta’s agreement expires prematurely in June — and the governing body is yet to find its next partner.

The 2023 Ashes series in the UK begins June 16. The clock is ticking.

The Australian reports Cricket Australia is still in the market looking for its next major sponsor.

Journalist Nick Tabakoff reports there is speculation the public shaming of Alinta could impact the price Cricket Australia can command in its current round of sponsorship talks.

The report claims at least one betting company has been spooked out of pursuing naming rights partnerships in Australia because of the recent cases of players refusing to toe the line with sponsorship dollars.

Netball Australia was last year famously brought to its knees when the Diamonds dressing room voiced concerns about the sport’s $15 million sponsorship with mining magnate Gina Rinehart.

Indigenous Aussie goal shooter Donnell Wallam was at the centre of a national saga after Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting tore up its $15 million deal.

Wallam, who became the first Indigenous player to represent the Diamonds in over 20 years with her debut, expressed concern about wearing the Hancock Prospecting logo on the Diamonds uniform.

Pat Cummins led Australia under difficult circumstances in India this year. Photo by Indranil MUKHERJEE / AFP.

This was reportedly due to comments made by Rinehart’s father Lang Hancock in the 1980s. He infamously suggested in 1984 Indigenous Australians should be sterilised to “breed themselves out” in coming years.

That has been followed by reports players in the AFL have refused to have their images used by the code’s many betting partners.

It leaves sport a potential minefield for sponsors, their deep pockets and their marketing budgets.

Overlooked in the saga is that the ethical, reputational or commercial stands being taken by Aussie athletes has the very real potential of coming back to bite them where it hurts — their wallets.

Former NRL commercial chief Paul Kind has told The Australian athletes will likely begin to back down from their ethical protests if sponsorship money dries up — resulting in cuts to their collective bargaining agreements and total player payment pools.

The most recent Cricket Australia CBA estimated players would receive around $100 million per year across all forms of the game — 27.5 per cent of Cricket Australia’s total revenues.

“Sports across Australia need to be worried about scaring off sponsors, because it will ultimately hit them, and the players, in the hip pocket,” Kind said.

He also said: “The events of last year provide a new layer of challenge, and caution for potential buyers.”

It is also potentially bad news for Aussie cricketers that the governing body is in the market at a time when sponsorship dollars are drying up in the increasingly difficult economic situation Australia is expected to face in coming years.

Pat Cummins fronts the press in India. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images.

The hunt for a new primary sponsor continues, Cummins has distanced himself for being the spark that triggered the messy scandal.

“It was complete rubbish,” he said.

“The nature of the position I am in you do get dragged into different things. It was one of those moments you have to live with people you don’t know having opinions about you.”

Cummins has been criticised for flying first class and driving an environmentally challenging car, and he continues to be hammered on social media for his environmental beliefs.

“It doesn’t bother me at all,’’ he said of constant criticism from the public.

“I am not doing things to please absolutely everyone. Steve Jobs said he would go and sell ice cream if he wanted to do that.’’

“My generation and people around that are passionate about different things. They are opened minded to things … some people can’t leave those values at the door. They can’t walk past those values. If that creates different conversations maybe that is a good thing.

“I don’t think I shout it from the roof tops. I just try and do a lot myself to make little changes in my life if I can. If I can make a little bit of difference through my actions or Cricket for Climate I am not too bothered by people picking holes in it.

“My job is to lead the team and do my best. If there are other things I am passionate about that I can think I can make a difference with then from time to time I can share them.’’

Originally published as Burning $40m truth Pat Cummins can’t ignore as backlash exposed