Elite athletes can earn huge money from playing contracts, prize money, sponsorship, endorsements, appearance fees and media work. <\/p>\n
This is especially the case for Australia\u2019s two major football codes \u2013 the Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL), which began last weekend.<\/p>\n
However, a 2023 report<\/a> showed 46% of Australia\u2019s elite athletes over 18 earn less than $23,000 annually, placing them below the poverty line<\/a>. <\/p>\n While athletes in major professional leagues benefit from strong revenues and collective bargaining agreements, many outside of these profitable competitions \u2013 and most women athletes \u2013 can be left earning much less, despite competing at the highest level of their sport.<\/p>\n The AFL<\/p>\n Athletes in Australia\u2019s most popular sports often receive sizeable playing contracts influenced by collective bargaining agreements. <\/p>\n Last year, the average AFL player wage was A$505,961<\/a> (up 10.2% from 2024). This salary rose as a result of the 2023-2027 collective bargaining agreement<\/a>, which set players\u2019 revenue share<\/a> at 31.7% and forecasts an average men\u2019s salary of about $519,000<\/a> in 2027. <\/p>\n There\u2019s been a dramatic jump in top-end earnings in recent years. In 2024, 25 players earned at least $1 million but in 2025<\/a> that number more than doubled (58). <\/p>\n For the first time, two players were paid more than $1.6 million, and 22 earned beyond $1.2 million. <\/p>\n Those numbers will again increase in 2026 with multiple $2 million-per-season contracts<\/a> being forecast<\/a>. <\/p>\n NRL<\/p>\n NRL salaries have also increased, although not as rapidly as the AFL. <\/p>\n In 2027, the league\u2019s salary cap<\/a> will be $12.1 million per club \u2013 an increase of more than 5% since 2023. <\/p>\n This equates to an average player salary of about $400,000, while base playing contracts will be $145,000 in 2027. <\/p>\n This year also marks the beginning of the largest contract<\/a> in NRL history, with Newcastle Knights\u2019 Dylan Brown signing a ten-year deal worth more than $13 million. <\/p>\n In 2025, Brown was among 19 players<\/a> believed to be earning above $1 million. <\/p>\n NRLW and AFLW<\/p>\n Salaries in the women\u2019s leagues for the AFL and NRL are much lower in comparison.<\/p>\n NRLW player wages are growing but still sit below those of the AFLW. <\/p>\n The NRLW annual salary cap has grown by 68% from 2023 ($900,000) to 2027 ($1.518 million). Across the same period, the AFLW\u2019s total player payments<\/a> will increase from $1.79 million to $2.46 million. <\/p>\n The NRLW average salary will be more than $60,000 in 2027<\/a>, while the AFLW average salary is expected to increase<\/a> to $82,000 in the same year. <\/p>\n NRLW and AFLW wages have long been criticised<\/a> for being too low, leaving most players seeking alternative sources of income<\/a>. <\/p>\n Under the current collective bargaining agreements, part-time employment has now become the most common work status across the league. <\/p>\n Aside from the major football codes, salaries for many Australian domestic sports leagues are rising. <\/p>\n Cricket<\/p>\n Elite cricketers can earn millions<\/a> of dollars each year to play for their country and various teams in short Twenty 20 (T20) tournaments.<\/p>\n The team salary cap in the T20 Big Bash League<\/a> (BBL) last summer was $3.12 million<\/a>. <\/p>\n Top players earned<\/a> up to $420,000<\/a> for the six-week tournament, with the minimum salary set at $52,000<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cricketers can also play in other competitions during the year, such as in India<\/a>, Pakistan<\/a>, the West Indies<\/a> and the United States<\/a>. <\/p>\n Salaries for these competitions<\/a> can range from the tens of thousands<\/a> up to millions<\/a>.<\/p>\n Additionally, cricketers can hold contracts to play matches for their state and\/or country. The average<\/a> men\u2019s Cricket Australia contract is nearly $1 million<\/a> a year, plus match payments. <\/p>\n Top Australian women<\/a> cricketers can also earn up to $1 million<\/a> a year when their national contracts<\/a> are combined with their earnings from T20 tournaments overseas.<\/p>\n Basketball<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s National Basketball League (NBL) has a team salary cap of just more than $2 million<\/a>. However the current marquee system<\/a> allows for a proportion of top players\u2019 salaries not to be included in the cap.<\/p>\n This means some of the league\u2019s star players can earn more than $1 million<\/a> a season. The minimum salary<\/a> is around $80,000.<\/p>\n NBL players also regularly play in countries such as China<\/a>, South Korea<\/a>, Turkey<\/a> and Spain<\/a> where they can earn hundreds of thousands<\/a> of dollars per season. Top players can earn more than a $1 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n Netball<\/p>\n Netball Australia and the code\u2019s players\u2019 association reached a landmark deal in 2025 involving a revenue share model and around a 40% pay increase<\/a> over three years. <\/p>\n Netball Australia also agreed to a new three-year collective player agreement that would see Super Netball\u2019s average player salary<\/a> jump to close to $90,000, with a minimum salary of $46,000 in 2026. <\/p>\n The enhanced financial security and investment in players\u2019 welfare are likely to underpin Australia\u2019s potential success at the 2026 Commonwealth Games<\/a> and the 2027 Netball World Cup<\/a> in Sydney. <\/p>\n Tennis<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s highest ranked male tennis player Alex De Minaur<\/a> has been professional since 2015. In this time, he has amassed almost $24 million in prize money, with $1.4 million coming in the first two months of 2026 alone.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s highest ranked female player Maya Joint<\/a> has collected almost $1.7 million<\/a> since turning professional at the end of 2024. <\/p>\n While the top tennis players in the world can rank among sports\u2019 highest earners, many players struggle financially<\/a> if they\u2019re not in the top 50-100 rankings<\/a>. <\/p>\n Golf<\/p>\n Golf is defined by substantial prize money. <\/p>\n Australia\u2019s top-ranked male golfer, Min Woo Lee, currently sitting 30th<\/a> in the world, has already amassed almost US$3 million (A$4.3 million) in 2026. <\/p>\n