How Much do Cricket Umpires get Paid? Match Fees and Sponsorship Earnings

It’s a tough job being a cricket umpire with lots of travelling and the pressure to keep making the right decisions on the pitch. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how much the officials get paid, and consider if they are worth their salaries.

Elite International Cricket Umpire Salary – Top 10 ICC Cricket Umpire Earnings

Umpire ODI Test Match T20 ICC Annual Earnings
Aleem Dar $3 000 $5 000 $1 500 $3 000 $100 000
Chris Gaffaney $3 000 $5 000 $1 500 $3 000 $100 000
Joel Wilson $3 000 $5 000 $1 500 $3 000 $100 000
Bruce Oxenford $3 000 $5 000 $1 500 $3 000 $100 000
Marais Erasmus $3 000 $5 000 $1 500 $3 000 $100 000
Kumar Dharmasena $3 000 $5 000 $1 500 $3 000 $100 000
Michael Gough $3 000 $5 000 $1 500 $3 000 $100 000
Nigel Llong $3 000 $5 000 $1 500 $3 000 $100 000
Richard Illingworth $3 000 $5 000 $1 500 $3 000 $100 000
Paul Reiffel $3 000 $5 000 $1 500 $3 000 $100 000

Aleem Dar

One of the busiest umpires on the international circuit, Aleem Dar is a respected official who has now stood in more than 400 matches worldwide. That’s an incredible amount and the tally stretches all the way back to 2000.

The latest sets of figures show that all the top ten leading umpires have earnings in the region of $100,000 USD. The potential for Aleem Dar to appear in more matches puts him at the top.

He will, however, shortly disappear from the circuit. In 2024, Dar announced that he would retire from umpiring at the end of the 2024/25 season. At that point, he is set to take up a role as one of Pakistan’s national selectors.

Bruce Oxenford

The figure of $100,000 tends to be set for all members of the ICC elite umpire’s panel. There is also a potential to earn more through advertising and private endorsements.

Bruce Oxenford is now only working on domestic cricket in his native Australia so his figures will start to come down.

He is known for the arm guard used to protect himself from flying cricket balls, but that doesn’t appear to have interefered with his judgement. Oxenford is respected around the circuit and he remains a seriously good umpire.

Joel Wilson

From Trinidad and Tobago, Joel Wilson began his umpiring career in 2011 and is now closing in on 300 international matches. He came to prominence at the 2015 World Cup and was promoted to the elite panel four years later.

Among the many umpires on this list, Wilson has arguably made the most questionable calls, both as a standing umpire and as a third official when he has the use of technology. It will be interesting to see how his reputation develops in the coming months and years.

Chris Gaffaney

New Zealand’s Chris Gaffaney is one of the newest members of the elite panel. He made his name in domestic cricket and was featured regularly at the IPL in 2022.

He has risen rapidly through the umpire rankings and is arguably the most reliable official on this list. He’ll likely be retained by the IPL while featuring in even more international matches around the world.

Marais Erasmus

A no-nonsense umpire, Marais Erasmus doesn’t overexert himself when making signals. He knows that the game isn’t about him, but he still makes his decisions perfectly clear.

Jonathan Trott, Marais Erasmus, and James Anderson during day four of the Investec Ashes 2nd test match, at Lords Cricket Ground on July 21, 2013 in London, England.

At the start of 2024, Erasmus announced his retirement from international cricket, but it’s likely he’ll continue to work domestically for a while. It’s also possible that we’ll see him employed in T20 franchise cricket around the world.

Kumar Dharmasena

Of all the umpires ever to be involved in the game, Kumar Dharmasena enjoyed one of the longest playing careers. At international level for Sri Lanka, he played in 172 matches before moving into officiating.

Perhaps that gives him a better insight than others. He’s been corrected by DRS a few times, but Dharmasena has the full respect of the players. With other top umpires retiring from the game, Kumar seemed even busier in 2024, and that trend is likely to continue for a few more years.

Brad Haddin, Kumar Dharmasena, Jonny Bairstow and Phillip Hughes on day one of the Investec Ashes 2nd test match, at Lords Cricket Ground on July 18, 2013 in London, England

Michael Gough

England’s Michael Gough was a promising young batter who seemed to have a long international career ahead of him. Somehow, he fell out of love with cricket and retired at the age of just 24.

Batting’s loss was umpiring’s gain and Gough has now become one of the most respected officials around the world. He rarely relies on the Decision Review System but, when players do call for DRS, Gough is rarely proved wrong.

Nigel Llong

Nigel Llong enjoyed a long playing career in English domestic cricket and has been umpiring at the highest level since. As of 2022, he had officiated in 224 international games.

Llong is no longer on the ICC elite panel so those salary figures may come down. We will, however, continue to see him perform in domestic cricket, but he may remain in English cricket in the future.

Richard Illingworth

A former left arm spinner, Richard Illingworth played in 34 matches for England. His most notable contribution as a player came when he took a wicket with his very first ball in tests. He’s another umpire to have featured at the IPL. Illingworth joined the elite panel in 2013 and he stood in his 150th international match in 2022.

Paul Reiffel

The man known as Pop Gun was formerly an effective bowler who would have made more appearances for Australia if he’d played in a different era. He was a good seamer, but with the likes of Glenn McGrath around, his appearances were limited.

As an umpire, Paul Reiffel made his debut in 2009 and was elevated to the ICC elite panel in 2013. As one of the younger umpires around, he’s also one of the busiest on the circuit.

Cricket Umpire Salaries by Countries

Cricket Umpire Salary in the UK

In the UK, salaries vary more widely than in most countries around the world. There is a clear path to the top but, before officials can start to earn elite panel money, they will be claiming a far more modest salary.

At the very basic level, it’s reported that junior umpires may earn as little as £14 an hour. For a first class game, earnings could then be less than £100 per day. It’s not a great incentive, but there is a pathway to the top and to higher earnings.

County level umpires may earn $1000 a game but the big money is provided by the ICC Elite Panel and it’s perfectly possible for umpires in the UK to reach that stage.

How much do IPL Cricket Umpires get Paid?

It’s the biggest domestic cricket competition in the world and umpires at the IPL are well rewarded. The latest sets of figures show that every official involved in the tournament will receive a basic salary of $12,000.

Match fees add to the tally and these are reported as being in the region of $3,000 per game. Across the longest T20 tournament in cricket, that all adds up to some very healthy figures.

PSL Umpires 2022 Salary

There are two types of umpires in the Pakistan Super League. Some are on a development programme while others are considered as full time professionals.

Those professionals earn a base salary of $8,500 for the tournament and they will claim $1000 per match. For those on the development team, the base salary drops to $1500 while the match fee is $400. Whichever category you fall into, there is scope for a good salary.

The same applies to other franchise tournaments such as the Big Bash in Australia and the Caribbean Premier League. This is where the big money lies and like the players, umpires want to be involved in T20 franchise cricket.

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Conclusion

The salary figures here are insightful and it’s interesting to see that members of the elite panel are largely paid the same salary. Clearly, this is the place to be, and the pressure is on to maintain performance levels and to stay on that panel.

As expected, the fees for umpires in domestic cricket vary depending on the country and the competition that they are officiating in. Overall, these are impressive figures and much higher than many of us might have thought.