The pay for Silver Ferns players varies by contract type and level, but top players typically earn around NZ$120,000 to NZ$136,000 per year when you include national-team retainer, ANZ Premiership retainer, and match fees. The exact figures are subject to annual agreements and exemptions that can boost or reduce total earnings depending on additional factors like international commitments and eligibility rules.

Key points:

• Base retainers and match fees form the core of Silver Ferns earnings, with higher-tier contracts reaching roughly NZ$130k–NZ$140k when combined with ANZ Premiership components.

• When excluding the ANZ Premiership component, top-tier Silver Ferns earnings drop significantly, highlighting how domestic league retainers influence total pay. In some scenarios, top players might be around NZ$70k without the ANZ element, but can rise toward ~NZ$190k with exemptions and SSN (international) earnings layered in.

• Recent policy changes and exemption criteria aim to balance player development, domestic competition, and high-performance needs, which can shift earnings for eligible players.

• Benchmarks from related sources suggest the range of compensation across similar contexts (e.g., large-organization sports pay scales in New Zealand) supports the ~NZ$100k–NZ$150k band for top Silver Ferns, with variability by year and individual contracts.

If you’d like, I can narrow this to a specific year (e.g., 2024–2025 season) or break down the components (retainers, match fees, exemptions) with the exact figures as reported for that period.