Cricket Australia has offered Pat Cummins a $4 million-per-year contract extension until 2029 to counter a competing $10 million annual offer from franchise cricket. Cummins, along with Travis Head, previously declined the franchise offer.
Key points
Cricket Australia offers Pat Cummins a $4 million-per-year contract extension until 2029
Cummins and Travis Head rejected a $10 million annual offer to play franchise cricket
Head, Marnus Labuschagne, and Cameron Green are also in line for new deals
Mentioned in this story
Pat CumminsCricket AustraliaTravis HeadMarnus LabuschagneCameron Green
Cricket Australia offers Pat Cummins a $4 million-per-year contract extension until 2029.
Cummins and Travis Head both previously rejected a $10 million annual offer to play franchise cricket.
Head, Marnus Labuschagne, and Cameron Green are also in line for new deals.
Cricket Australia moves to tie down Pat Cummins and key players with bumper new contracts
Australia Test captain Pat Cummins is reportedly being offered a three-year extension that would take the Australian captain through to 2029 and lift his annual earnings from Cricket Australia to around four million dollars. It is an increase of roughly one million dollars per year on his current deal.
According to *The Age,*over the full term, the arrangement would be worth approximately $12m. It will be a figure that sits alongside his commercial partnerships and whatever he earns from IPL.
Cummins came in at number fifteen on a recent list of Australia's highest-paid sportspeople, with total earnings last year estimated at between nine and $10m dollars.
Earlier this year, Cummins and vice-captain Travis Head were reportedly approached by an IPL franchise with an offer worth close to $10m annually each to walk away from international cricket and commit full-time to the franchise circuit. Both players had been part of Sunrisers Hyderabad's IPL setup, but despite the staggering figures involved, both turned it down as they remain committed to representing Australia.
Q&A
What is the value of Pat Cummins' new contract with Cricket Australia?
Pat Cummins' new contract with Cricket Australia is valued at $4 million per year.
Why did Pat Cummins reject the $10 million franchise cricket offer?
Pat Cummins rejected the $10 million franchise cricket offer to continue playing for Cricket Australia.
How long is Pat Cummins' contract extension with Cricket Australia?
Pat Cummins' contract extension with Cricket Australia is until 2029.
Which other players are in line for new deals with Cricket Australia?
Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, and Cameron Green are also in line for new deals.
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Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green are also in line for bumper contracts
Test number three, Marnus Labuschagne, has also been put forward for a three-year contract, while Cameron Green, despite going through a difficult run of form, remains highly valued as a player capable of contributing across all formats.
Green's CA retainer was below $1.5 million last year, and his new deal is likely to better reflect his importance to the national setup.
One notable feature of Cummins' proposed contract is that it includes a higher proportion of guaranteed money, meaning his earnings will be less dependent on the number of matches he plays. This is a utility concession given that Cummins missed almost the entire Ashes summer this past season with a back injury, playing just one Test.
James Allsopp, who oversees cricket operations at Cricket Australia, did not mince words when asked about the reasoning behind these offers.
He confirmed that multi-format players who generate commercial value and drive television audiences are a clear priority, and that the board is fully aware of the market forces pulling at players like Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Head.
“They’ve earned the right, they’ve been long-term performers for Australia across formats for a long period of time. There’s only so far you can take them under the current constraints. That’s definitely a priority at the moment," he said.
“It is a really tricky balancing act. One thing we do know is that the market pressure is coming at the players who drive the most commercial value. Your multi-format players like Pat, Josh [Hazlewood] and Trav, there’s a lot of demand for those players. So ensuring they remain committed to Australian cricket is a really big priority.”
He also flagged that specialist white-ball players face similar pressures and need to be looked after accordingly.
“The two priorities, in my mind, are making sure multi-format players that drive a lot of commercial value, and also performance value for the team, are well looked after, and we can compete with those market forces, and then also our specialist white-ball players,” he said.
“They’re in pretty high demand. There’s a world now, where they can jump on the franchise circuit and make a really good living away from Australian cricket, or even away from our BBL, and that’s not going to be in the best interests of Australian cricket.”
The Cricket News Opinion: Australian cricket is right to pay up
When franchise groups are offering figures that dwarf what national boards can provide, every contract negotiation becomes a retention battle. Cricket Australia deserves credit for recognising this early and acting accordingly.
Losing Cummins or Head to full-time franchise cricket would have consequences on the scorecard and hurt Australian cricket's standing in the Test game at exactly the moment when Test cricket needs its biggest names most.
Paying them properly is not generosity. It is a necessity.
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