ENGLAND’S top stars have been promised a jackpot following The Hundred’s big sell-off.
Players such as Test captain Ben Stokes and white-ball skipper Jos Buttler will rake in vastly increased salaries playing in the tournament.
GettyTodd Boehly is an investor in The Hundred[/caption]
GettyNFL legend Tom Brady owns a stake in Birmingham Phoenix[/caption]
The auction of the eight franchises will bring around £560million into cricket with money split between the 18 counties, MCC and the grassroots game.
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly and legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady are among the investors.
And ECB chief executive Richard Gould says players’ wages will soar from 2026 when the new investors get properly involved.
The top salary bracket in The Hundred rises from £125,000 to £200,000 in 2025, which still pales in comparison to the riches of the IPL, where players can become instant millionaires.
From 2026, the top Hundred figure is likely to reach £300,000 with further increases after that.
The new backers of the eight city-based Hundred teams — including four IPL owners as well as American consortiums featuring Boehly and Brady — will raise pay to lure the best global stars.
Gould said: “We need to make sure The Hundred attracts the very best players.
“We know that players’ salaries will increase significantly in future years.
“That is going to happen. We will make sure we are the leaders in the global market during the English summer.
“Attracting the best players will make sure we have all the best English players — men and women — playing in our competition.
“They will be paid the top market rate.”
Buying teams that are just four years old, the mega-rich have grabbed a slice of historic venues such as Lord’s, The Oval and Headingley.
ECB chair Richard Thompson describes the windfall as a “seminal moment” for the game.
PACricket superstars like Ben Stokes will see their salaries take a massive jump[/caption]
He has written an open letter to cricket fans to try to ease worries that the auction could wreck county cricket.
Many counties face financial hardship and their £25m share of the bonanza will help pay off debts and improve infrastructure.
The big worry is that the money will not be used wisely and, in perhaps 15 years, some counties could find they are back to square one.
That is why spending must first be approved by the ECB.
The Hundred teams and their worth
The Hundred boasts teams from all over country. SunSport gives you a guide to who’s who, as well as how much they are worth.
LONDON SPIRIT
HOME: Lord’s
THE kudos of a link with the Home of Cricket inflated the price of London Spirit. And a Silicon Valley consortium of mainly cricket-mad Indians splashed the cash.
COST: £145m (49%)
NORTHERN SUPER CHARGERS
HOME: Headingley
DEBT-HIT Yorkshire were forced to flog their entire stake, bought by media company Sun Group, which owns IPL’s Sunrisers Hyderabad.
COST: £100m (100 per cent).
BIRMINGHAM PHOENIX
HOME: Edgbaston
BOUGHT by New York-based Knighthead Capital, who owns Birmingham City and includes NFL legend Tom Brady.
COST: £40m (49%).
OVAL INVINCIBLES
HOME: The Oval
A HUGE stake was acquired by Reliance Industries — owned by Asia’s richest family the Ambanis, who now boast five franchises globally.
COST: £60m (49 per cent)
WELSH FIRE
HOME: Cardiff
SANJAY GOVIL is in at Glamorgan. The tech tycoon owns Washington Freedom in America’s Major League Cricket tournament.
COST: £35m (50 per cent).
MANCHESTER INVINCIBLES
HOME: Old Trafford
LANCASHIRE sold a massive 70 per cent to ease their financial worries. Their new investors RPSG Group own IPL team Lucknow Super Giants.
COST: £81m (70 per cent)
Investors believe their money can be recouped mainly from future TV deals for The Hundred.
From 2026, expect name changes and greater alignment with other IPL-owned teams around the globe.
The Hundred could also become a T20 tournament, although the ECB deny this was a condition of the sale.
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