USA players set to receive pay cuts during COVID-19 pandemic
The USA Cricket board is set to substantially reduce salaries of the contracted players during the COVID-19 pandemic that has hurt all kinds of sport globally. The board has planned on imposing these pay cuts, at least by 50%, until the end of the playersâ contract period which is in July.
Last year, for the first time ever in their history, the USA Cricket board had handed out money-rich contracts to the national team players. While the average player salary was around $70,000, the highest salary soared up to $90,000. The players were offered such sky-high salaries by the board to make them give up their other day jobs and solely focus on their cricket.
However, the sudden and progressive growth in USA cricket was marred by the COVID-19 pandemic that led to the postponement of the much-anticipated tri-nation series between hosts USA, UAE and Scotland. The series that was scheduled to take place in the first week of April but it was indefinitely postponed due to the unprecedented pandemic. And now, the pay cuts have made it evident that the board is trying to cope with the losses.
The USA had offered player contracts in July 2019 and until the end of those annual contracts, the listed players will have to suffer pay cuts of at least 50%. Meanwhile, the USA cricket board was also set to tour the Netherlands in June but the global pandemic has made that an unlikely possibility now.Â