NRL to directly pay players for the first time in game’s history as part of new CBA
THE NRL will hand out more than a million dollars’ worth of payments to its players for the first time in the game’s history under its new collective bargaining agreement.
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THE NRL will hand out more than a million dollars’ worth of payments to its players for the first time in the game’s history under its new collective bargaining agreement.
While it falls short of former NRL boss Dave Smith’s unused “war chest” to keep players in the game, the NRL will make discretionary payments to at least one player across each 16 clubs from next season. The move will allow NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg to lean on the game’s high profile players in what will he said will be used to attract some big sponsorship dollars into the game.
The marketing marquee fund is part of a new $980 million dollar deal which handsomely rewards the game’s players.
After months of protected negotiations and tensions — which includes protests and threats of boycotts — a deal was finally reached between Greenberg and the Rugby League Players Association boss Ian Prendergast.
The main parts of the deal included;
— Players receiving 29.5 per cent of forecast game revenue plus a share of any outperformance revenue
— Average wage of $330,000, minimum wage increased to $100,000 next year and $120,000 in 2022.
- $9.4 million salary cap next year. More than $10 million in 2022.
— Hardship fund
— $3.75 million for the elite women’s game
MARKETING FUND
The NRL will cough up $7.5 million across the five years of the deal to 32 players across the game.
“There will be a pool of money and that will be tied to the players jumping in and doing additional things,” Greenberg said. “But every player now has obligations.
“The money in this deal is not just playing, it’s to work on behalf of the game and promote the game.
“We might be coming down the pipe of doing a really big sponsorship deal worth tens of millions of dollars for the sport and I might need (a player) to come in for that meeting, sit with me and close that deal out.
“They will be jumping into those meetings because they are incentivised because the revenues go back to a better outcome.
“We’ve never had that before. I don’t know of another model that does that.”
INTEGRITY
THE NRL will be able to access players’ bank statements and phone records should they suspect serious breaking of the games rules. Prendergast said this includes corruption, match fixing and series salary cap breaches.
“When you talk partnership there is a responsibility that comes with that,” Prendergast said. “We have an interest in protecting the game. If we put that at risk then the livelihood of our players is at risk. They understand the NRL’s need to have powers. The players are comfortable.”
EXPECTATIONS ON PLAYERS
There is little doubt this deal is a huge win for the game’s players. They have been given greater security and a rich payday. But there will be added responsibilities and an obvious expectation around player behaviour.
“There will be a greater accountability and responsibility (on the players),” Greenberg said. “Everyone in the game will do more. And when we do better everyone will share.”
Prendergast added: “There will be a much improved approach all around. If you think about that from a fans perspective, there is not any one thing that you can refer to but the players will become more confident in terms of their role in the game. You will see them perform better, not only on the field but in the other obligations they have.”
AFFORDABILITY
Greenberg hosed down suggestions that the game is on its knees financially despite being knocked back for a $30 million bank loan.
“The game is not broke,” Greenberg said. “What happened in the previous cycle, the game held back a lot of those reserves and decided to invest them in areas of the game.
“In the next cycle the Commission and I have made a conscious decision we’re not going to hold back funds, we’re going to distribute the funds.
“That’s part of the evolution at the sport. The concepts of bank loans — that’s not because the game is going broke, it’s because of cash flow.
“What often happens is the broadcast deals aren’t aligned with where the club funding and the players are. The club funding and players get paid on the first of November for the start of the new football season but the broadcast cycle starts in January. There’s two months. “When you’re paying the amount of money you’re paying to clubs and the players, that’s not a small amount of money, so it’s all about cash flow.”
Originally published as NRL to directly pay players for the first time in game’s history as part of new CBA
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