The Black Ferns are set to receive significant back pay for their successful 2017 season as part of a historic deal with NZ Rugby.
An agreement, which is expected to be signed off next month, will see a negotiated one-off payment of around $10,000 each and will ensure Black Ferns contracted players be placed on modest retainers thought to range from $15,000 to $30,000.
The landmark deal will stand as a major step forward toward player pay equality and is mostly thanks to the Black Ferns stunning World Cup victory, which raised questions about investment in the women's game.
Just last week, World Rugby Player of the Year, Portia Woodman, criticised NZ Rugby's decision to disregard a women's tournament in the Hamilton Sevens saying "it would have been a step toward equality and setting the women's game on the same standard as the men's."