Today we will discuss the salary of a Big Bash League player in Australia.

Australia has won yet another Cricket World Cup. Can this victory inspire the Big Bash League to capture the public’s imagination and become the second-best league again after the IPL?

However, there’s one question on every cricket fan’s mind: just how much do these players make?

BBL Cricketer Salary – By the Numbers

• The average salary of a Big Bash League player (BBL) is $166,667 AUD or $110,312 USD (maximum 18 players in squad with a purse of $3 million AUD or $1.99 million USD). The salary purse of a BBL team increased from $1.9 million AUD in the 2022-23 season to $3 million AUD in 2023-24.
• The average salary for a domestic Big Bash League cricketer is $161,544 USD ($19,869,900 USD purse for a total of maximum 123 domestic players). The average salary for an overseas BBL cricketer is $196,667 USD ($4,130,000 USD for 21 overseas players that were picked in the BBL overseas draft).
• Compared to other leagues, the BBL ranks at #4 in the richest cricket leagues (according to average salaries).
• The average WBBL player earns about $48,800 AUD or $30,812 USD, which is about 3.5 times less than the men’s BBL counterpart.

Big Bash League (BBL) – How Much Was Each Draft Pick?

The overseas Big Bash League (BBL) draft was announced earlier this year.

The draft picks ranged from $100,000 AUD (Bronze) to $420,000 (Platinum). Teams also had the option to retain one player in the draft (The ‘Rashid Khan’ rule).

Draft Pick	Salary Amount
Platinum	$420,000 AUD ($277,985 USD)
Gold	$300,000 AUD ($198,561 USD)
Silver	$200,000 AUD ($132,374 USD)
Bronze	$100,000 AUD ($66,187 USD)

*Note, the conversion rate we used was as follows: $1 AUD = $0.66 USD as of 11/30/2023.

BBL Draft Picks – Salary of Big Bash League Player

1. Platinum Draft Pick ($277,985 USD)

• Harry Brook* (Melbourne Stars), Rashid Khan (Adelaide Strikers), Chris Jordan (Hobart Hurricanes), Quinton de Kock (Melbourne Renegades), Alex Hales (Sydney Thunder), Tom Curran (Sydney Sixers), Colin Munro (Brisbane Heat)

Note: The Platinum Draft player salary will vary as per the availability of the player as follows:

• Full Season – $420,000 AUD ($277,985 USD)
• 10 Matches – $400,000 AUD ($264,748 USD)
• 9 Matches – $380,000 AUD ($251,511 USD)
• 8 Matches – $360,000 AUD ($238,273 USD)

*Gold, Silver, Bronze level players do not have a minimum number of matches requirement

2. Gold Draft Pick ($198,561 USD)

• Haris Rauf (Melbourne Stars), Jamie Overton (Adelaide Strikers), Sam Hain (Hobart Hurricanes), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Melbourne Renegades), Zaman Khan (Sydney Thunder), James Vince (Sydney Sixers), Sam Billings (Brisbane Heat), Zak Crawley (Perth Scorchers)

3. Silver Draft Pick ($132,374 USD)

• Laurie Evans (Perth Scorchers), Paul Walter (Brisbane Heat), Corey Anderson (Hobart Hurricanes)

4. Bronze Draft Pick ($66,187 USD)

• Usama Mir (Melbourne Stars), Adam Hose (Adelaie Strikers), Rehan Ahmed (Sydney Sixers)

Also Read: What is the Salary of women cricketers in the WBBL in Australia?

*Note: Rashid Khan, Harry Brook, Pooran, Rehan Ahmed are some of the high profile withdrawals from the 2023-24 BBL season.

Final Thoughts

The Big Bash League players in Australia will be making, on average, more money than they have in the years past.

The popularity of the BBL has drastically reduced over the years, and they are trying to make amends by luring the top players with more compensation.

The average salary for a professional cricketer in the BBL now ranges from $66,000 to $280,000 USD. Will this be enough to fend off competition from the SA20 & ILT20 and more importantly, will the crowds come back?

Only time will tell.

Sources: Australia BBL WBBL news – Sydney Thunder and Melbourne Stars win WBBL and BBL draft lotteries | ESPNcricinfo, BBL|13 Overseas player draft: the full list | cricket.com.au, LIVE – WBBL and BBL overseas player drafts | ESPNcricinfo, Big Bash 2023-24 squads: Full BBL13 player list for all teams | The Cricketer, All you need to know about the BBL and WBBL overseas players draft

Related Cricket Content

If you are interested in the salaries of other such leagues, make sure to check out:

• What is the Salary of an Indian Premier League (IPL) player in India?
• Salary of a Caribbean Premier League (CPL) player in the West Indies
• What is the Salary of a Major League Cricket player in the USA?
• What is the Salary of women cricketers in The Hundred (Women’s) in England?
• Salary of a player in The Hundred (Men’s) in England?

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• Salary of Cricketers (Men’s) from Each of the 12 Nations (2022)—The Complete Guide
• Virat Kohli Net Worth, Salary 2023

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