England / centrally contracted players:-
- Central contract and county fees (£350,000+ for top players)
- Share of England image rights, memorabilia sales etc
- Test win bonus (£60,000 between squad)
- Series win bonus (£500,000 between squad)
- Sponsorship and endorsements
The wages of County players do vary - as has been said. The wage cap has seen to that, but at least it equalises everything - a bit. Counties are required to have a certain proportion of under 23s, etc. This actually helps them manage their wage bill, with this structure in place, you are looking at very experienced pro's on about £90k, e.g., Gareth Batty. There is also T&S and bonus payments, sponsorships, etc. Plus many County players make appearances through their County Boards at events, dinners, presentation nights, etc.
The bottom line is that they make a living, which as some have said, they supplement with coaching, playing abroad, possibly other jobs, etc. Does your average county pro get a wage that is decent for what they do? Probably not.
For younger players coming into the game, if they can make it and get paid for doing something they love, a 15, 16 or 17 year old, isn't going to be thinking about mortgages, kids, running a home, etc. Some, as we know, in cricket play whilst at Uni and so sow the seeds for their futures by doing so, as well as playing a role in the cricket development - there are some extremely good University cricket programmes out there, which are linked with County Boards.
The jobs market isn't fantastic as we know. Why wouldn't a kid with some ability and the parental support and backing not want to go into cricket? I honestly don't think a player who has the ability to play as a professional is thinking about salary, etc., at that stage of their career, so I don't think the comparisons being made are as simple a choice as that.
Also, at the end of a player's career, the PCA do a tremendous job with placing players either in cricket related careers or in the outside world... One or two - Stefan Jones (fitness & coaching at Taunton School) & Robin Martin-Jenkins - have gone into teaching, using their cricket careers to good effect, so a career as a County pro can lead to other things.
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Topic: first class salaries (Read 14405 times)