The RLPA wants salary cap reform and a better deal for long-serving, one-club players

THE RLPA is pushing for salary cap changes including loyalty discounts to stop long-serving one-club legends being forced into retirement.

North Queensland Cowboys v Brisbane Broncos elimination final from 1300 Smiles Stadium, Townsville. Broncos Corey Parker. Picture: Zak Simmonds

The Rugby League Players Association is pushing for sweeping salary cap changes including loyalty discounts to stop long-serving one-club legends like Corey Parker being forced into retirement.

As part of the new collective bargaining agreement, the association wants 12-year one-club players to be salary cap exempt, 10-year players getting a 50 per cent discount and eight-year players getting a 25 per cent discount.

There are many examples in the game of long-serving club legends before forced to the English Super League or into early retirement like Parker or Manly Sea Eagles icon Steve Menzies.

Glenn Stewart had 11 years at Manly and under this system could have stayed with only half his wage going into the salary cap.

The Sea Eagles have never fully recovered from the turmoil that came about by his departure to South Sydney.

Even going back further to Matty Johns at the Newcastle Knights. He played eight years in the jersey but got shoved out because of the salary cap which caused an absolute furore among fans.

Under the new system, there would need to be certain conditions including only one player in each of the eight, 10 and 12-year categories to qualify for the discount.

Otherwise Melbourne Storm with Cooper Cronk (13 years), Cameron Smith (15) and Billy Slater (14) would have too great an advantage over their rivals.

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There are so many positives to support this Players Association initiative.

For starters it doesn’t cost the NRL any money and would be funded by the clubs.

It frees up more money to lift the minimum wage for lower-ranked players.

It allows better mentoring programs where, to use Parker as an example, the Maroons and Kangaroos legend could stay for one more year to help rookies adjust to the demands of professional football.

But more than anything else it rewards loyalty in the NRL from both the clubs and the players.

Only 33 of the current 450 NRL stars are one-team players who have been at their clubs longer than eight years. That’s just seven per cent.

Someone like winger Jason Nightingale at St George Illawarra has been a wonderfully dependable 10-year club man. He’s still very competitive but getting towards an age, 31 this year, where a tap on the shoulder is not too far off.

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He would be a fantastic mentor for younger players at the Dragons and the club would be more likely to keep him on if he wasn’t soaking up his full wage in the salary cap.

It would certainly stop as many players switching clubs.

Mitchell Pearce has 10 years up at the Sydney Roosters and will be one of the most sought-after players in the NRL next year. It would make it harder for him to leave if the Roosters could get a 50 per cent discount in the cap.

As one club official said yesterday: “There’s nothing worse than having that conversation and telling a long-term player he should go and finish in the Super League in England.

“In most cases they are still good enough to play one or two more seasons in the NRL but everyone is planning long term and need younger players.

“A lot of great club men are being forced out prematurely.”

The salary cap discussions and collective bargain agreement talks should be finalised midway through next season.

Anything that is going to encourage more loyalty and less transfers will be a winner with the fans.

Originally published as The RLPA wants salary cap reform and a better deal for long-serving, one-club players