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etball Australia is reportedly nearing a record-breaking broadcast partnership with the Nine Network and Foxtel for the Super Netball competition, according to the ABC.

Super Netball Commission chair, Marina Go, said she hopes the deal will drive growth for other women’s sports’ broadcast deals, with the competition’s current broadcast deal with Nine set to expire in 2021.

“We are currently in negotiations so cannot say too much at this stage,” Go said.

“But the Commission has a number of strategic objectives that we are aiming to deliver for the league and its stakeholders across the next five-year period and we believe the next broadcast agreement will enable us to achieve them.

“That, for netball, would be like hitting the jackpot.

“The next agreement will be the first step on the path to growing the league, with the hope that the value created over the next five years for Australia’s leading women’s sport will start to deliver a more gender-balanced outcome in future broadcast deals for all sports,” she said.

Following the closure of a new and improved broadcast deal for the competition, the Australian Netball Players Association (ANPA) will negotiate a new Collective Players Agreement (CPA) with Netball Australia, with the hope of allowing athletes to become more professional and higher paid.

ANPA CEO, Kathryn Harby-Williams, said increasing individual earning potential is a driver for the new deal, but it is not an “at any cost” scenario.

“Our CPA comes up at the end of 2021 and we’ve just done some work on a player manifesto,” Harby-Williams said.

“The number one element that is very important to our players is, yes, they want to become pro netballers but not at the expense of being well-rounded individuals who are ready to transition into life after their sporting career.

“Yes, they want to make money, but they don’t want to let go of having the ability to study, do work experience, and develop life skills.

“If you talk to a lot of athletes, there are a lot that struggle when they leave the sporting environment that is very structured and within a bubble and the adjustment to real life is extremely difficult.

“Our players are very conscious of that and probably educated because they’ve seen other sports go through this, so when they step away from our game, they want to be ready for the next phase,” she said.