Mystics goal attack Dani Binks, left, lines up a shot under challenge from Pulse captain Kelly Jackson during the ANZ Premiership Grand Final. Photo: Marty Melville/Photosport
New Zealand's elite netballers have largely managed to avoid pay cuts under a new collective employment agreement, but face an uncertain future.
There were concerns that pay cuts were on the cards after it was reported earlier this year that Netball New Zealand's (NNZ) broadcast deal with Sky TV was for a significantly reduced amount of money.
After several months of negotiations, NNZ and Sky TV announced in May that they had agreed to a one-year extension to their existing broadcasting partnership.
At the same time it was announced that the 2025 ANZ Premiership would be reduced to a two-round format.
The New Zealand Netball Players' Association started the bargaining process for a new collective employment agreement in May last year but negotiations were put on hold while NNZ negotiated a new broadcasting deal, which covers the salary caps of the ANZ Premiership franchises.
The Players' Association and Netball New Zealand have just recently signed off the agreement.
Players' Association executive manager Steph Bond said they were generally happy with the outcome.
"Overall it's a pretty good outcome for the players, which is great because we want to be able to ensure we are remunerating them well and they don't have to go off and do a thousand other jobs at the same time," Bond said.
"But it's short term, it's for a year and we don't know what 2026 is going to bring so it's short term certainty but who knows where we are going to be because the Sky deal is only for next year so 2026 is now really the focus in terms of where the game goes.
"It's kind of frustrating in that sense, that it's like a never ending process but that's the nature of where we are at a little bit with the sport at the moment."
Steel's Kate Heffernan and Mystics Tayla Earle in action during the Steel v Mystics ANZ Premiership netball match at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin. Photo: Michael Bradley
The Silver Ferns deal remains exactly the same as the previous collective agreement, which was signed off in November 2021.
The Silver Ferns annual contract consists of a retainer, with tiers starting from $30,000, going up to $56,000. In addition match fees are $1500 per test. With the Silver Ferns playing up to 15 tests a year, the optimum earnings from match fees are about $22,500.
Bond said although the ANZ Premiership had been cut from three rounds to two next year, the players will end up with a very similar amount of money.
"Their retainers have basically been pro-rated to reflect the length of the competition but we've implemented a different structure where the use of player property and player attributes is now remunerated.
"It just really modernises what a collective employment agreement should look like in terms of professional sport so the commercial use of imagery and player property will now be remunerated as well as playing and training so they have the opportunity to earn the same amount that they have previously."
Under the old agreement ANZ Premiership retainers ranged between $26,000 and $56,000 and on top of that each franchise could spend up to $100,000 on Non-Playing Agreements and Third Party Agreements.
Once you added up the Silver Ferns retainer, optimal match fees, and the ANZ retainer, the highest paying Silver Fern could earn around $135,000 and Bond said that would be about the same under the new agreement.
"Overall it's fairly similar to what they have been able to earn and we've been able to do that because we've effectively had reserves in the player payment pool from the last couple of years under our shared revenue model, which has enabled us probably to invest in next year a little bit."
In terms of how it compares to other female teams sports in New Zealand, it sits second to women's cricket. The highest-ranked White Fern, who also plays a full domestic cricket season, has the potential to earn around $180,000.
Bond said the money that Silver Ferns players received in New Zealand wasn't that different to their counterparts in Australia, who operate under a different model.
"We have Silver Fern retainers and ANZ retainers so if you are a Silver Fern you are getting quite well remunerated whereas the model in Australia is more weighted to the Suncorp Super Netball (SSN) retainers and then the Diamonds get assembly rates.
"Overall I don't think it's very far apart if you add it up. The Diamonds don't get that well paid. So if you're a Silver Ferns player you'd probably be earning as much if not more as a Diamonds player over there, across both their models."
Late last year Netball Australia and the Australian Netball Players' Association (ANPA) signed a partnership pay deal after a bitter pay dispute.
The average SSN salary rose to A$89,221 and minimum salary rose to A$46,600 over the term of the three-year Collective Player Agreement (CPA).
Silver Ferns players will receive the same amount of money under the new agreement. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The ANPA is currently negotiating Diamonds' contracts now.
It's been reported that the Diamonds receive a payment of about A$5,000 per year and are paid per diems of A$450 for each day they are in camp and A$600 during a World Cup.
England Netball is relaunching its Super League (NSL) from 2025, marking a significant step towards professionalisation. It's understood the minimum salary next year will increase to NZ$20,000.
Next year's new ANZ Premiership format is also likely to include rule changes, such as introducing a two-point shot.
"It's been worked through at the moment and I know there's some immediate decisions to be made to align with contracting. Then there's a working group working around different innovations for next year as we speak."
Last month the Silver Ferns coach told RNZ she had had conversations with players who were interested in playing in the Australian league next year and would support their exemption bids.
Does the Players Association have a stance on whether Netball New Zealand should allow players to compete in the SSN without it affecting their Silver Ferns eligibility?
"In this collective bargaining it wasn't an issue that was raised by the players at the start so it wasn't something that was part of this bargaining round. But by all means if players raised it as an issue in the next 12 to 18 months then we'd have to look at it in terms of what players wanted and where we sat on that."