What is the Salary of a Major League Cricket player in the USA?
Today we will discuss the salary of a Major League Cricket player in the USA.
When it comes to professional sports in America, we often think of baseball, basketball, and football as the top dogs.
But there’s a new player in town that’s been gaining international attention: Cricket. Major League Cricket has been making waves in the sports world, especially with the growing popularity of T20 cricket. However, there’s one question on every cricket fan’s mind: just how much do these players make?
MLC Cricketer Salary – By the Numbers
- The average salary of a Major League Cricket player (MLC) is $60,526 (maximum 19 players in squad with a purse of $1.15 million).
- The average salary for a domestic Major League cricketer is $39,375 ($315,000 purse for a total of 8 domestic players). The average salary for an overseas MLC cricketer is $92,200 ($830,000 for nine overseas slots).
- About $320,000 from the $1.15 million will be spent on the ten domestic players. Hence, $830,000 is remaining in the purse of each team to sign the nine overseas players. Note, that this amount may be skewed. According to a Daily Mail report, Jason Roy has been offered 300,000 pounds ($372,000) on a 2-year contract ($186,000/year). This means that LA Knight Riders, who signed Jason Roy, will be left with about $644,000 for their remaining 8 overseas signing (for an average of $80,500 per overseas player).
- Compared to other leagues, MLC ranks at #7 in the richest cricket leagues (according to average salaries).
Major League Cricket (MLC) – How Much Was Each Draft Pick?
The Major League Cricket (MLC) draft was held earlier this year in the NASA Space Center in Houston.
The draft picks ranged from $10,000 (8th round pick) to $75,000 (1st round pick). Rookies were drafted in the 9th round (reportedly around $2,500) and an additional tenth player will be picked for each team following the Minor League Cricket (MiLC) season preceding the MLC.
| Draft Pick | Salary Amount |
| Round 1 | $75,000 |
| Round 2 | $65,000 |
| Round 3 | $50,000 |
| Round 4 | $40,000 |
| Round 5 | $35,000 |
| Round 6 | $25,000 |
| Round 7 | $15,000 |
| Round 8 | $10,000 |
MLC 2023 Draft Picks – Salary of Major League Cricket Player
1. First Round Draft Pick ($75,000)
- Harmeet Singh (Seattle Orcas), Andries Gous (Washington Freedom), Steven Taylor (MI New York), Corey Anderson (San Francisco Unicorns), Ali Khan (Los Angeles Knight Riders), Rusty Theron (Texas Super Kings)
2. Second Round Draft Pick ($65,000)
- Shehan Jayasuriya (Seattle Orcas), Mukhtar Ahmed (Washington Freedom), Hammad Azam (MI New York), Liam Plunkett (San Francisco Unicorns), Unmukt Chand (Los Angeles Knight Riders), Calvin Salvage (Texas Super Kings)
3. Third Round Draft Pick ($50,000)
- Shubham Ranjane (Seattle Orcas), Obus Pienaar (Washington Freedom), Ehsan Adil (MI New York), Tajinder Singh (San Francisco Unicorns), Jaskaran Malhotra (Los Angeles Knight Riders), Lahiru Milantha (Texas Super Kings)
4. Fourth Round Draft Pick ($40,000)
- Cameron Gannon (Seattle Orcas), Saurabh Netravalkar (Washington Freedom), Nosthush Kenjige (MI New York), Chaitanya Bishnoi (San Francisco Unicorns), Nitish Kumar (Los Angeles Knight Riders), Milind Kumar (Texas Super Kings)
5. Fifth Round Draft Pick ($35,000)
- Aaron Jones (Seattle Orcas), Saad Ali (Washington Freedom), Monank Patel (MI New York), Carmi Le Roux (San Francisco Unicorns), Corne Dry (Los Angeles Knight Riders), Sami Aslam (Texas Super Kings)
6. Sixth Round Draft Pick ($25,000)
- Nauman Anwar (Seattle Orcas), Dane Piedt (Washington Freedom), Sarbjeet Singh Ladda (MI New York), Brody Couch (San Francisco Unicorns), Ali Sheikh (Los Angeles Knight Riders), Cameron Stevenson (Texas Super Kings)
7. Seventh Round Draft Pick ($15,000)
- Phani Simhadri (Seattle Orcas), Sujith Gowda (Washington Freedom), Shayan Jahangir (MI New York), David White (San Francisco Unicorns), Saif Badar (Los Angeles Knight Riders), Cody Chetty (Texas Super Kings)
8. Eighth Round Draft Pick ($10,000)
- Angelo Perera (Seattle Orcas), Justin Dill (Washington Freedom), Kyle Phillip (MI New York), Smit Patel (San Francisco Unicorns), Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Zia Shahzad (Texas Super Kings)
9. Ninth Round Draft Pick ($2,500)
- Matthew Tromp (Seattle Orcas), Akhilesh Bodugum (Washington Freedom), Saideep Ganesh (MI New York), Sanjay Krishnamurthi (San Francisco Unicorns), Bhaskar Yadram (Los Angeles Knight Riders), Saiteja Mukkamalla (Texas Super Kings)
10. Overseas Signings ($60,000-$372,000)
The exact amounts for the overseas signings have not been disclosed yet. These are estimates based on reports and the purse allocated to each team.
- Anrich Nortje, Wanindu Hasaranga, Marco Jansen, Glenn Phillips, Adam Milne (Washington Freedom)
- Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis (San Francisco Unicorns)
- Quinton de Kock, Wayne Parnell, Dasun Shanaka, Sikandar Raza (Seattle Orcas)
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Major League Cricket players in the USA will be making a decent amount of money from MLC, a league that lasts only three weeks.
The average salary for a professional cricketer in the league ranges from $25,000 to $75,000, with the top players earning considerably more. While it may not match the salary of some of the top athletes in America, it is impressive for a sport that’s still finding its footing in the country.
As a fan of the sport, it’s exciting to see the potential for growth and success in Major League Cricket, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for these talented athletes. With cricket’s popularity on the rise, it’s not a stretch to say that the league’s players could one day be just as well-compensated as their counterparts in football and baseball.
Sources: MLC 2023 Domestic Player Draft Recap – Major League Cricket, Harmeet Singh goes first in MLC Draft to Seattle Orcas Ali Khan and Unmukt Chand snapped by LA Knight Riders
Related Cricket Content
Major League Cricket Articles
If you are interested in more articles on USA Cricket and Major League Cricket, check out the following:
- 56 American Cricketers Who Left Their Countries and Moved to Play Cricket in the USA: List of USA Cricketers Who Were Born in Other Nations
- 11 Overseas Cricketers in Major League Cricket (MLC) in USA: Aaron Finch, Quinton de Kock…Can You Guess the Rest?
- How Many Cricket Stadiums are there in the USA?
- Major League Cricket Schedule, Fixtures, Venues: Where to Buy Major League Cricket (MLC) 2023 Tickets?
- USA Cricket—The Complete Guide to Cricket in America (Updated 2023)
- Avinash’s Cricket Journey in the USA: an Interview
Cricket and Finances Articles
For other content on Finances in Cricket, do read:
- Top 12 Richest Cricket Boards (RANKED 2023): Which Cricket Board Has the Highest Net Worth?
- Top 11 Richest Cricket Leagues (By Average Salaries). Which Cricket League Pays the Most?
- How Much Do Different Types of Cricketers Earn Per Year (2022)? Salaries of Pujara, Stokes, Warner, Billings, Tim David Revealed!
- Salary of Cricketers (Men’s) from Each of the 12 Nations (2022)—The Complete Guide
- Virat Kohli Net Worth, Salary 2023
Frequently Asked Questions
The average salary of a Major League Cricket (MLC) player is $60,526. Each MLC team has a purse of $1.15 million for 19 players total (10 domestic, 9 overseas).
No, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is the richest cricket league in the world. The MLC is the seventh richest cricket league in the world (based on average player salary).
Unmukt Chand was picked for $65,000 as he was a second-round pick for the LA Knight Riders in the MLC player draft.
Harmeet Singh, Andries Gous, Steven Taylor, Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, and Rusty Theron were the most expensive players. They each earned $75,000 as the first draft picks.
© Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, LLC 2023. Originally published on 05/23/2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).
