'Marquees' introduced as part of BBL contracting evolution

Australian superstars Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins could be signed to Big Bash clubs next summer even if they won't be available due to international commitments as part of sweeping changes to player contracting.

Cricket Australia today announced one of the biggest evolutions in KFC BBL contracting rules since the league's inception 12 years ago, including a significant uplift in player payments, made possible by the new five-year Memorandum of Understanding between CA and the Australian Cricketers' Association that 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.

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.

Platinum players must be available for the entire season to pocket the full amount, unlike last season where some players, including No.2 and No.3 picks Rashid Khan and Trent Boult, earned the top wage despite departing for rival T20 leagues in South Africa and the UAE halfway through the tournament.

Platinum drafted players available for eight matches or fewer will earn $360,000 for the season, with 'mini salary bands' applying for any availability in between.

A pro rata reduction also applies to any drafted player not available for matches during their nominated period.

Cricket Australia's general manager of Big Bash Leagues, Alistair Dobson, said the introduction of marquee player payment thresholds would be instrumental in ensuring the competition continued to attract world-class talent while also rewarding homegrown stars.

The league will also introduce an overseas player draft for the WBBL for the first time next summer.

"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 calibre group of players to choose from," Dobson said.

"The new player contracting rules and uplift in total payment pools will allow both the Weber WBBL and KFC BBL to remain internationally competitive in an increasingly dynamic market."

The two Marquee Supplementary List spots have been introduced following Smith's explosive five-game stint with the Sydney Sixers in BBL|12 that yielded two incredible centuries and the most sixes (25) of any batter in the tournament.

Smith wasn't part of the Sixers initial squad but was signed as a local replacement player on the eve of the season after he became available following South Africa's withdrawal from a three-match ODI series last January.

CA contracted players who at the time of the BBL contracting window are not expected to be available for the coming season can be signed on a Marquee Supplementary List and moved to a club's primary list of 18 should they become available throughout the season.

This new mechanism will help "de-risk" the signing of Australian players with limited availability, meaning BBL clubs can still contract them in a transparent way without taking a valuable list spot away from another domestic player.

Fast bowlers Starc, Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland were the centrally contracted players unsigned in BBL|12 who could be top supplementary list targets for BBL clubs ahead of next season, while Marnus Labuschagne (Heat), Nathan Lyon (Sixers) and Marcus Harris (Renegades) are out of contract with their respective clubs.

Some payment relief will be provided to clubs to sign national players expected to have limited availability and they will also be permitted to bring forward a portion of their total payment pool from the following season to pay CA contracted players if their availability changes, provided they stay within a three-year rolling average of $3m.

"A key focus has been to further optimise the ability and opportunity for BBL teams to sign Australian contracted players onto their lists," Dobson said.

"It's always our ambition for as many of those players to be part of the BBL as possible, noting that they've got their own workload requirements and challenges coming into a really busy year with a World Cup into a five-Test summer.

"We hope that the mechanisms we're adding at least will enable clubs to sign players even if they are either unlikely or not available, because having them around the BBL and ready if available is a really important part of the competition for us."

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 per cent in 2023-24 to around $167,000, with the minimum retainer to increase by more than 20 per cent.