$25,000 bonus for winning Black Ferns
Each member of the Black Ferns’ Rugby World Cup-winning squad will receive a bonus payment of $25,000.
The payment was confirmed yesterday afternoon, six days after the team completed an incredible turnaround in the space of less than a year to win the Rugby World Cup on home soil.
NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson said in a statement that “New Zealand Rugby, with generous contributions from key partners Sky, Adidas and ASB, have created a bonus pool of almost $1 million to acknowledge the incredible success of the Black Ferns team and management at the Rugby World Cup”.
This week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was among a growing chorus of voices saying the world champions deserve equal pay and equal opportunities to their male counterparts.
In 2015, the All Blacks received a $150,000 bonus for winning the World Cup and are on track to receive a similar amount if they win the 2023 RWC.
“While bonuses were not built into Black Ferns contracts, NZR considers that they are appropriate given the scale of the Black Ferns’ RWC campaign,” said Robinson.
New Zealand Rugby said in a statement last month that its focus was on transitioning the professional women’s players to a full-time employment model.
A major contract breakthrough this year now means most of the squad are on retainers of between $35,000 and $70,000 a year.
Some earn more than $130,000 — comparable to lower-end Super Rugby players. Overall it meant the Black Ferns had higher remuneration than other teams, even including a lack of bonuses.
The announcement comes a week after the Telegraph in Britain reported that each England player would receive a bonus of $30,000 if they won the Cup.
Sky chief corporate affairs officer Chris Major said the broadcaster was “delighted” to be involved in helping fund the bonus for the Ferns.
Major described his company as “longstanding partners of NZ Rugby, and supporters and fans of the Black Ferns”.
“The Black Ferns’ success, along with the outstanding success of the whole tournament, has inspired and thrilled Kiwis across the country,” Major said. “At Sky, we care deeply about ensuring women and girls can ‘see the possible’ in sport, and the Black Ferns have more than achieved that.”