Cricket Australia’s BBL Privatisation Plans Face Standoff Over Player Revenue Share

Cricket Australia’s ambitious push to privatise the Big Bash Leagues has hit a roadblock, with the Australian Cricketers’ Association warning that the multi-million-dollar corporate restructuring cannot proceed without formal player agreement.

While Cricket Australia has officially advanced to the next stage of the franchise sale process, the move has triggered a high-stakes revenue-sharing dispute centered on the current Memorandum of Understanding, which governs financial distributions until the end of 2028. the core disagreement is whether proceeds generated from private equity and team sales fall under the definition of Australian Cricket Revenue, a pool currently shared with players at a baseline rate of 27.5 per cent, which the players’ association wants elevated to 33 per cent.

The Australian Cricketers’ Association, led by CEO Paul Marsh, has formally proposed an independent legal resolution process to neutralise the dispute by appointing a neutral arbiter to determine how private investment capital interacts with existing Memorandum of Understanding definitions.

Marsh has maintained that despite Cricket Australia’s public announcement, foundational negotiations remain unresolved.

Addressing the impasse, Marsh, stated: “We note today’s announcement from CA about proceeding to the next stage of the proposed privatisation of the Big Bash Leagues.”

“From the ACA’s perspective, today’s announcement doesn’t change the work that’s required to be done for privatisation of the Big Bash Leagues to proceed.

“A new MoU needs to be negotiated between ACA and CA and currently we are a long way apart on a possible new deal.

“Despite today’s announcement, Australian cricket cannot proceed with the sale of any teams without the ACA’s agreement. A key issue to be resolved relates to whether or not the proceeds from private investment are captured under the definition of Australian Cricket Revenue.

“On this matter the ACA wrote to CA last week to propose a process for independently determining whether or not these proceeds are captured under the MoU.

“This process will form a critical part of the next steps in this project.

“The ACA remains committed to exploring the privatisation of the Big Bash Leagues but will do so on the basis of any deal being good for the game and the players.”

Cricket Australia CEO, Todd Greenberg, acknowledged the negotiation gap but expressed confidence that a mutually beneficial commercial framework can be reached ahead of upcoming seasons.

“Paul Marsh and I have had good dialogue, yes, we’re a fair way apart in what the negotiation looks like.”

“We’ve got an MOU that runs through till the end of 2028, so we think we’ve got time. I mean, it’s ironic that what we’re trying to do in this particular model is put more money into the hands of the players.

“We think that’s a fundamental part of this project. So we will find a way through that. I have no doubt about that.

“I understand Paul’s got a challenge because he’s got a big cohort of players, so that negotiation will unfold. I’m sure we can find a deal together.”

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