2018 NRL Fan Survey: NRL CEO Todd Greenberg responds
FANS want the NRL to open up the books on players’ wages to remove cynicism surrounding the salary cap. In our 2018 fan survey, thousands of people called for the NRL to adopt a system similar to American sports. We put the results to NRL boss Todd Greenberg.
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IF fans have one message for the NRL, it’s this: show us the money.
A whopping 86 per cent of respondents in The Daily Telegraph’s 2018 Fan Survey want player wages to be publicised, as they are in elite competitions such as the NBA and NFL.
NRL CEO Todd Greenberg says that’s not going to happen, claiming the salary cap is already “transparent” at $9.4 million per club.
FULL RESULTS OF THE 2018 NRL FAN SURVEY BELOW
“We don’t think it is appropriate to publicly reveal player salaries,” Greenberg said.
“Just as the salaries of doctors, teachers and journalists are not generally made public.”
Calls for greater transparency have grown louder after serious salary cap issues at Manly and Parramatta in recent seasons.
Both clubs found themselves in trouble due to the use of illegal third-party deals, which prompted calls for a clearer salary cap system.
In February, fan frustration was backed up by NRL players’ union director Jeremy Latimore.
“In a lot of sports, American sports and European soccer for example, generally their salaries are known,” Latimore said.
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“I don’t think many players would have an issue with it.
“If that is going to help fans, the clubs and the NRL, if people know what people are earning, then so be it.”
Greenberg addressed a number of results from the annual fan survey, which had 4400 voters.
The Sea Eagles were voted the Sydney club that should be relocated with 33 per cent of votes, ahead of Wests Tigers and Cronulla (14 per cent each).
But Greenberg said the club would not be moved from its northern beaches home, unless it instigated a shift.
“We do not propose relocating any teams unless they want to relocate or are not financially sustainable,” he said.
“We have made it clear that the NRL is not in a position to bail out any club which is not financially sustainable.”
Despite this stance, Greenberg said expansion remained firmly on the agenda.
Given all of the coaching shenanigans going on at numerous clubs, fans were clear in who they rated as the best mentor in the game.
Melbourne’s Craig Bellamy pulled 58 per cent of the vote, well ahead of South Sydney’s Anthony Seibold in second place with 18 per cent.
Greenberg confirmed the game would stick with a stand-alone Origin weekend with the match on a Sunday.
Fifty-one per cent of fans agreed with Greenberg, but would like to see an earlier kick-off than this year’s 7.40pm timeslot.
“The stand-alone representative weekend is here to stay,” he said.
“The fans liked it, as the poll results suggest, but they also loved the other representative matches.
Originally published as 2018 NRL Fan Survey: NRL CEO Todd Greenberg responds
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