Pat Cummins to become Cricket Australia’s first cricketer to earn $3 m, Meg lanning will get $1 m

Cricket Australia announced a new pay agreement on Monday, April 3. The agreement represented a significant increase in pay for all Australian women and Big Bash League players. Pat Cummins, Australia's captain, will become the first cricketer to earn $3 million while women's team skipper Meg Lanning could earn $1 million. 

As per a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers' Association, professional women cricketers will receive a 66 percent pay increase. The top CA contract holder on a Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) deal can earn more than $800,000 per year. Meanwhile, with the captaincy, they can earn more than $1 million along with the earnings from the Women's Premier League (India) and The Hundred (UK).

Male players with Cricket Australia contracts will get a 7.5% rise in the first year, then 2% per year for the next four years. Based on this, Cummins has a retainer of more than $2 million and overall Cricket Australia earnings of $3 million.

Wage Cap for top BBL players increased from $2 million to $3 million

When combined with a WBBL retainer and earnings from other competitions, the next six CA contract holders will likely earn $500,000 per year on average. Cricket Australia increased the wage cap for top male BBL players from $2 million to $3 million per club as the number of franchise Twenty20 leagues are increasing.

Cricket Australia chairman Mike Baird hailed the new agreement as a watershed moment in Australian cricket. He stated that the board is proud to provide significant support for the country's female athletes. He also stated that they have kept a commercial position for their male players to compete with the best in the world.

“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.