Cricket Australia to break $100K minimum wage barrier for female players

The Australian Cricket is seemingly all set to break the six-figure wage mark for their female players. Cricket Australia and the Players' Union are expected to sign a 'Memorandum of Understanding' soon to finalise the new pay deal. With the new agreement, players with state and WBBL contracts will earn an average of AU$1,51,000 starting next season. 

The final details of the new contract are still being worked out through a negotiation, which is being led by Cricket Australia CEO, Nick Hockley, and Australian Cricketers’ Association CEO, Todd Greenberg. However, both sides have moved on from the dramas of the pay war, as reported by ESPN Cricinfo. Notably, this tussle between the two sporting bodies happened back in 2017. Consequently, this tussle led to an abandonment of the tour along with strike threats.

Under the terms of the agreement, the lowest-paid players on state and Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) contracts will earn AU$ 83,000. In addition to their salary, players will continue to earn match fees for Women's national cricket League (WNCL) matches as well. This deal will lead to an increment in the average salary to AU$ 123,000 and AU$ 151,000 after match fees.

Cricket will throttle beyond other sports for women in Australia

This coveted agreement will take cricket to new heights compared to other women's sports in Australia, with the closest competitor being Super Netball. Currently, in the sport of Netball, the starting salary is AU$ 43,000 without any additional match payments.

The minimum wage for female players in Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league, AFLW (AFL Women's League), is close to AU$ 40,000, while NRLW (NRL Women's Premiership) is AU$ 30,000 and A-League women's is AU$ 25,000).

Contract values for overseas and Australian centrally contracted stars are expected to rise significantly in the WBBL to keep the league competitive with England's Hundred tournament as well as other franchise tournaments.

Organizers hope that the pay increase will allow them to continue attracting the best overseas players to Australia. When national deals and big-money offers from the WPL are factored in, Australia's centrally contracted players could earn close to AU $1 million per season.