Cricket-Australia’s Big Bash League Boosts Player Payments Amid T20 Talent War
In a move that can attract the top talent, Cricket Australia have made landmark changes on Wednesday to Big Bash League contracting rules since the league’s inception 12 years ago. It included a significant uplift in player payments and the league has also introduced a new Marquee Supplementary List for nationally contracted players, part of huge changes for BBL 13.
The new five-year Memorandum of Understanding between CA and the Australian Cricketers’ Association was announced earlier this month.
As part of the changes, the eight BBL clubs will be able to sign up to two CA-contracted players with limited availability to a new Marquee Supplementary List to ensure they can bring them into their squad should the chance arise.
Under the new MOU, top BBL players can now earn more than $400,000 a season, while average retainers will increase by more than 50 percent in 2023-24 to around $167,000, with the minimum retainer to increase by more than 20 percent.
A Significant Command In The Draft
Following a significant increase in each club’s total payments pool from $1.9m to $3m, each club must now have a minimum of six players (whether domestic, overseas, or CA-contracted) who are paid $200,000 or more per season, and they will be regarded as marquee players. These six players must collectively be paid a minimum of $1.7m in BBL|13.
With the overseas player draft also returning for BBL|13, that means all international talent taken with a silver selection or higher will be considered marquees. The league has also confirmed salary increases for three of the four draft bands, with platinum picks set to earn $420,000 in BBL|13, up 23.5 per cent from last season.
Overseas players selected at gold level will pocket 15 per cent more ($300,000) next season, with silver picks also increasing 14 per cent to $200,000. The bronze salary band will remain at $100,000 in BBL|13.
Cricket Australia’s Statement
Alistair Dobson, Cricket Australia’s general manager of Big Bash Leagues said that “With top international players able to earn more in the Big Bash Leagues than ever before, there’s no doubt clubs will have a high-caliber group of players to choose from.”
He added “The new player contracting rules and uplift in total payment pools will allow both the WBBL and BBL to remain internationally competitive in an increasingly dynamic market.”
Many of the top T20 players in the world are currently competing in the hugely lucrative Indian Premier League, which this year also added a women’s tournament.
