The Hundred: Pay Disparity Expands for Top Male and Female Players

The pay disparity between the highest-earning male and female players in The Hundred is set to expand from £75,000 to £135,000 starting in 2025. This change means female players will receive a maximum of £65,000 in 2025. Salaries for top-tier male players are scheduled to increase by 60% to £200,000, whereas the remuneration for leading female players will see a 30% rise, reaching £65,000. These increments are part of a broader 25% increase implemented across all salary categories. For band seven, which represents the lowest earning bracket, men’s salaries will be £31,000, an increase from £30,000 in 2024, while women’s earnings will be £10,000, up from £8,000. This development follows a 2023 recommendation by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, which advocated for salary equality in The Hundred by 2025. Organisers of The Hundred have described these increases as a “step forward.” Tournament director Rob Hillman stated, “That we are now offering four times what we were able to offer in the first year of the women’s competition is telling of the game’s continued growth, and clearly not the end of our journey.” This salary enhancement coincides with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) divesting stakes in all eight of The Hundred teams, with investors anticipated to be established for the 2025 season. The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) has expressed concerns regarding a lack of consultation concerning the new salaries, asserting that they will result in “negligible change” for most players, excluding those at the top. PCA interim chief executive Daryl Mitchell commented, “The PCA and current players are extremely concerned at the disproportionate salary bands for The Hundred which will see very few men’s professional cricketers in England and Wales benefit while the gap between the highest paid men’s and women’s players has widened.” Sam Billings, captain of Oval Invincibles, is among the players who have voiced criticism of the revised salaries, pointing out that the increase in the men’s tournament is not distributed evenly across various contract categories. On X, external, Billings questioned, “Remarkable how a category gets a 60% increase yet most others get under 5%… who has come up with this?” England bowler Tymal Mills, who has represented Southern Brave in every iteration of The Hundred, reposted the PCA statement and added, external: “Players in bands three downwards have largely carried and made the competition what it is today, ready to be sold and profited on. “Yet, after tax, are essentially getting no salary improvement after four years. First world problems I know but worth pointing out.”