It is a wonder how businessperson like Mallya and business houses like GMR, India Cements and the Deccan Group accepted such a contract.
Here is some facts courtesy the Economic Times.
1) Each player has been hired for a initial period of three years.
2) Their total fees is the money for which they were bought at the auction.
3) If a team ‘releases’ a player , it will have to honour the contract and pay the player for term contracted.
4) If a team has bid for a player and he is not available for that season, the franchisee will only have to pay a 10% retainer for having the player on squad and player gets paid on a per match basis.
5) The window for trading players will open from February 2009, when franchisees can buy and sell players.
6) If a player gets injured during the tournament, and the injury requires treatment, it is for the team owner to provide cover.
7) The players are obliged to perform to the best of their ability and if they are in breach, then termination is possible.
On first look, the contract seems just. It however, makes it impossible for the franchisees to shed non-performers without incurring financial loss. It is more so in the case of icons.
Assuming that players like Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman have no bidders when the transfer window opens in 2009 the franchisees are saddled with these 'icon's.
This brings the question of viability into the open. In this scenario, a franchisee has no way of making a profit. Surely, a fresh contract has to be drawn.
Don’t you think the contract favours the players?
17 comments:
It seems they aren't paying players anyway or are very late with payments, so it would seem it doesn't matter what the contracts say.
Park,
Even I read these reports.
If you remember the same kind of reports appeared prior to the tournament.
I doubt whether there is truth in it.
They are loaded in favour of the players but there's a reason for that.
The BCCI / IPL needs to ensure that players feel secure in their IPL jobs.
A number of leagues are coming up and soon there will come a time when players would have to choose between 2 leagues. Such favorable terms definitely gives IPL the advantage.
Whether a player performs or not the IPL would want the big names to be associated with it.
For the first time ever the cricketers' salaries are being determined by market forces.
I say its the players' time and its high time that they earned more than their boards and sponsors. Even if its at the expense of franchises.
That said, the franchises are making enough money, they're not at a loss.
Q,
What about next year, the market forces are helpless.
Take the case of Dravid, unless Ganguly puts in a good word to SRK, no franchisee will bid for him.
Even if they do it will be much lower than his current iconic status.
So where does it leave Mallya in the first instance? Similarly, where does it leave Dravid?
Where did u get these details from .I have been scanning various cricket websites including IPL T20 official website and got no definite answer for my queries .Now only the IT dept has asked for ipl contracts with foreign players.We will get to know the details when they pour out.
R,
You are right the owner of Kings XI says the payment are delayed to confusion regarding taxes.
Wish they had explained it to the players.
Like i suspected there shd be a termination clause in the contract.This clause will carry the protective ring for the franchise..No contract is irrevocable.When termination takes effect there is no question of paying the contracted amt.For instance the five members who were sent from Riders were reportedly paid only 65 percent at the time of release even though they were reportedly still in contract.
Surely you jest, Ottayan?
If the IPL is all about copying the franchise systems used in the U.S., how on earth could these contracts be termed favourable to the players?? Major League players have unions to fight for them (minimum wages for contracted players are in the millions) and they're perfectly willing to go on strike if needed.
Personally, I'd love to see some decent contracts put in place and perhaps even a draft system each year that favours the poorly placed teams. That is, one that allows them first pick of new players coming into the IPL. Put another way, this whole thing is being treated as a business and Mallya made some bad decisions. He should pay for them.
Ya, be that as it may, if they knew these clauses before the bidding began, there is no reason to whine.
dcsiva,
Firstly a warm welcome.
I admit to being provocative. The reason being the blind faith these franchisees seem to have on Modi.
They are all in a mess. Only a couple have some semblance of hope. One is the Chennai franchisee - since Srinivasan is with the BCCI he knows the difference between the fact and the hype.
The same is the case with Jaipur. Since the promoters have prior experience in setting up these kind of teams, they have taken purely business decisions.
Mallya, Shahrukh Khan, coming from flamboyant background fell for the hype.
Mallya business sense has finally woken up. Shah Rukh Khan is using the publicity to shore up his other activities.
Surprisingly, the Mohali franchisee seems to have escaped probably because of the Wadia connection ( I mean no disrespect to Priety Zinta) they are in for the long haul.
I still entertain hopes for DC albeit in the next edition. I firmly believe the series of close finishes in the early part of the tournament did them in. Plus the lackluster Captaincy of Laxman. They also exhibited sound understanding by negotiating with Laxman and getting out of the icon business.
Mumbai Indians have made some bad choices while bidding. However, Ambani's are used to projects that have a long gestation period and also know how to bend the rules.
Now coming to your comment, I agree with you completely about NFL and NBL.
However, I am sure they have a termination clause, which seems missing in IPL.
John,
I am with you, Mallya should lump it.
One funny aspect of this ipl system we forgot.Even if there is no cap for the next yr the franchise shd be wary. They will have to pay more for the icons than the highest paid player if they keep the icon system intact.
Ottayan,
I don't think the icon system would be in force after 3 years... I think franchises would get the order restored after 3 years... They will come with innovative ways (like pay based on performance rather than availability, etc.. ) to restore the balance... 3 years is bad for players too... For example, while a over valued player gets to walk away with the money, a under valued player (like Mike Hussey) would be undervalued for the whole three years...
Robin,
You are right regarding the undervalued players.
wow this post explains the possible reasons behind Pontings outburst on removing caps for players in the IPL.
POnting may sound innocent but his point is a valid one. But I always think that a sensible businessman will NEVER invest madly on these cricketers again.If they still do it nobody can help them.
My views are appended to the post above.
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