The International Cricket Council’s new revenue-distribution model appears to confirm the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the only “really big player in the game”, as it looks set to take home nearly 40% of the ICC’s net surplus earnings over the next four years.
According to ESPNcricinfo, which has seen the proposed model, the BCCI stands to earn about $230 million per year between 2024 and 2027 – which is 38.5% percent of the ICC’s annual earnings of $600 million.
In contrast, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) gets the least money of all 12 Full Members, and will take home a dismal $16.8 million a year – which is 2.8%.
England Cricket Board comes in second, but still considerably less than India with $41.3 million. Cricket Australia is third, with $37.53 million (6.25%).
Pakistan Cricket Board is the only other Full Member that’s projected to get over $30 million. PCB will earn $34.51 million (5.75%).
The remaining eight members will each earn below 5%.
Of the total $600 million, the 12 Full Members will get a total of $532.84 million (11.19%). The remaining $67.16 million will go to Associate Members.
This model is based on the ICC’s projected annual revenue, of over $3.2 billion, from the sale of its media rights alone. ESPNcricinfo reported that the bulk of the money has come from the sale of rights in the Indian market, with one company paying just over $3 billion for four years.
The proposed model was reportedly discussed by the ICC Board in March but only some details of the model were shared, including the criteria by which each Full Member would be graded when the distribution was calculated, ESPNcricinfo reported.
The paper detailing the proposed model was circulated to the Full Members and board directors thereafter.
It is understood that one unresolved issue for the ICC Board was the allocation of $100 million as an emergency fund. If that amount is approved, the annual earning pie would be shaved to $500 million, which would subsequently affect the individual payout each Full Member gets.
The BCCI meanwhile has consistently argued that it deserves a greater slice of the ICC’s pie because of the contribution India makes to cricket’s global economy – in other words the popular assumption that the Indian cricket economy contributes anywhere between 70-80% of the total cricket economy.
The next four-year rights deal, believed to be second only to the IPL in cricket, is by a significant factor greater than the $2.1 billion the ICC got from the previous rights cycle, which ran over eight and not four years (2015-2023).
ESPNcricinfo meanwhile stated that it understands that Full Members were meant to send their feedback on the proposed model by the first week of May, after which the board’s finance committee would put a final proposal to the ICC Board to ratify.
The timeline, according to some officials, is for the Board to approve the model during the ICC annual conference in June in Durban, South Africa.
