england players already earn a very good salary and that amount may triple if they win the ashes
**Players to reap Ashes rewards **
**By Simon Austin **
Let’s take a step forward in time… it’s Christmas Day 2005, and England’s Ashes triumph is still fresh in the memory.
Children up and down the country unwrap cricket bats, Ashes DVDs and PlayStation cricket games.
England hero Andrew Flintoff, who played a major role in his side’s defeat of the Australians, sits at home with his wife and daughter, feeling happy with his lot.
A few weeks ago, he found out he’d been awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours.
And his BBC Sports Personality of the Year trophy sits gleaming on the mantelpiece.
Sure, he feels a little guilty about splashing out so much on presents, but he contents himself with the thought that he can afford it after earning £1m in the last 12 months.
It’s an imaginary tale, but if England do avoid defeat at The Oval and clinch the Ashes, it will transform the lives of their players.
So says Andrew Wildblood, an agent for IMG.
“There will obviously be significantly more interest in cricket in general and certain players in particular if we win the Ashes,” he told BBC Sport.
**ENGLAND PLAYER’S EARNINGS **
Central contract and county fees (£350,000+ for top players)
Share of England image rights, memorabilia sales etc
Test win bonus (£60,000 between squad)
Series win bonus (£500,000 between squad)
Sponsorship and endorsements
“And there will be many commercial opportunities for all the players.”
Flintoff is already estimated to earn around £1m a year.
He receives more than £350,000 in wages from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and county side Lancashire.
He also has sponsorship deals with the Sun, Volkswagen, Barclays Capital and Red Bull.
But if England win the Ashes, that amount could sky-rocket.
It sounds fantastic, but John Smith of First Artists, who was the England cricket team’s first agent in the early 1990s, says the players should be careful as they look to cash in.
In particular, he urges them to remain focused on their cricket and avoid overloading themselves with too many sponsorship deals.
England replica shirts are a massive source of income
“I’d advise my client to do two or three deals only, with big blue-chip companies, and work for a couple of charities,” he said.
The total amount of money England players receive has trebled in the last three years, and the rate is set to accelerate even more rapidly.
Players’ union chief Richard Bevan told BBC Sport that the England squad will share £500,000 if they win the series, a figure agreed with the ECB before the Ashes started.
The players have already shared £60,000 for each of the two Tests they have won so far.
Under the “Team England Player Partnership”, they also take a percentage share of image rights, sales of memorabilia, personal appearances and endorsements.
This will be a significant figure if England win the Ashes.
For example, sales of replica England shirts are already up 100% while a DVD of the Ashes series, due out in October, is expected to sell up to 200,000 copies.
Players who remain on central contracts can also expect a hike in their pay.
Bevan is busy negotiating the current round of contracts with the ECB, but England’s success this summer looks like ensuring a record deal.
“Obviously our bargaining position has been strengthened significantly,” Bevan told BBC Sport, adding that he expected the number of central contracts to increase to 14 or 15 from the present 12.
There will be other significant changes for the players if they beat the Aussies, too.
Wilkinson (left): Nation’s darling after World Cup win
Cricket is now front-page news in the British newspapers and it surely won’t be too long before we see the likes of Flintoff and captain Michael Vaughan on the cover of Hello! magazine.
There could also be a raft of Queen’s honours in the New Year, as there were for England’s Rugby World Cup winners.
But that sporting triumph should sound a note of caution for England’s cricketers.
Rugby was also called “the new football” after that success, with Jonny Wilkinson securing several sponsorship deals and appearing in an advert with David Beckham.
But as England’s form dipped afterwards, so too did general interest in the game.
As Wildblood says: “If England lose the final Test, we’ll witness ‘Henman syndrome’, where there’s massive interest in a sport until we lose.”