Players up the ante in pay row with CA

THE pay stoush between Cricket Australia and the players’ union has entered new territory — the union is seeking to help players directly negotiate sponsorship deals.

The existing memorandum of understanding expires on June 30 and the latest offensive from the Australian Cricketers Association suggests a new deal remains far from being struck.

Senior players have warned the summer Ashes series could be compromised if CA declines to meet their requests.

The ACA plans to establish a business to manage players’ intellectual property and marketing rights if a deal cannot be reached before the deadline.

This would allow potential sponsors and broadcasters to negotiate with players without going through CA, whose con- trol of those rights falls under the current agreement.

ACA chief Alistair Nicholson said the arrangement would provide greater certainty for players and sponsors if a new deal weren’t struck.

The rights are likely to be renegotiated with CA in a new pay deal, meaning new sponsorship arrangements could be short-lived.

“The key thing for us is we’re really trying to get this deal done by June 30,” Nicholson said yesterday.

“Ideally, we could get to a good common ground (on) intellectual property.”

The key stumbling block between the two parties is the revenue sharing model that governs players’ wages — CA wants it scrapped while the ACA is adamant that can’t and won’t happen.