NRL 2023: ARLC table fresh, record CBA deal to RLPA to end strike threats

Top-secret documents have revealed the ARL Commission has tabled the richest CBA deal in history that will scupper any threat of an NRL player strike.

Top-secret documents reveal the ARLC have tabled a fresh CBA offer on the eve of the 2023 season kick-off. Picture: Jonathan Ng.

It is the record $1.347 billion offer that will scupper any threat of an NRL player strike.

News Corp can reveal the ARL Commission has tabled a beefed-up deal to the code’s elite stars as NRL boss Andrew Abdo and RLPA chiefs met for talks on Wednesday to finally end the CBA war on the eve of the 2023 premiership kick-off.

Abdo and RLPA bosses will spend the next 48 hours bunkered down in high-level talks at League Central in a bid to deliver the NRL’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement after six months of protracted negotiations.

News Corp understands peace is on the horizon in the wake of the multimillion-dollar NRLW deal that has provided a stepping stone for the NRL and RLPA to shake hands on rugby league’s first $1 billion pay deal.

Top-secret documents reveal the ARLC have tabled a fresh CBA offer on the eve of the 2023 season kick-off. Picture: Jonathan Ng.

Top-secret documents, obtained by News Corp, show the NRL has upped the ante financially to prevent NRL stars striking ahead of the Eels-Storm season opener on Thursday, March 2.

It can be revealed:

* The NRL’s revised offer, sent on December 23, has reached $1.347 billion, a 37 per cent increase in total player payments to the previous deal of $980m;

* The average NRL player’s proposed salary will rise by almost $63,000 this season – from $338,976 in 2022 to $401,823 this season;

* The NRL’s minimum salary will rise by 63 per cent to $120,000 this season, reaching $140,000 in 2027;

* The NRL has pledged to provide $115 million to the player benefits pool including superannuation and injury-hardship funds; and

* Of that $115 million, an extra $32m has been set aside by the NRL pending RLPA and player delegate feedback on how to distribute the additional funds.

*The RLPA sent a counter-proposal last month that did not request any additional money.

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo says negotiations are at a delicate stage. Picture: Getty Images.

Contacted by News Corp on Wednesday, NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo declined to comment, saying negotiations with the RLPA were at a delicate stage.

RLPA boss Clint Newton has been praised for his leadership, with the parties, largely at loggerheads since last August, hopeful of formalising the $1.347 billion package over the next fortnight.

A number of NRL players have recently raised the prospect of strike action unless their concerns were heard by the NRL, but one of the code’s most senior stars, Broncos skipper Adam Reynolds, says snubbing premiership matches is a last-resort measure.

“All players are in the same boat. We would hate for it to get to that situation (going on strike),” Reynolds said.

“We have to fight and stand up for what’s right as players. Some players may only play 50 games. Some have a career that goes on well beyond that, but we are fighting for the little details in the game, injuries and retirement funds and those sorts of things.

“A lot has been said about the money but that’s not just what the players are after.

“As a playing group, we are trying to look after the next wave of players and the generations who will come through well and truly after I’m gone.

“If we don’t get it set now, it will be a tough challenge for the next group to get it sorted out and so forth.

“It is disappointing that it has dragged on through the media and it has taken longer than expected to get it sorted, but as players we have to fight for what’s right and make sure we are on the same page and moving towards the one goal.

“The public seem to think it’s all about the money but it’s not.

“We hope the CBA will be sorted soon, hopefully before the start of the season.”

RLPA CEO Clint Newton insists he has not been playing hardball with the NRL in negotiations. Picture: AAP.

Newton recently told News Corp he was not playing hardball with the NRL in negotiations.

“We want players to be going to rugby league because we can say (the NRL has) the best remuneration, the best support, the best services, the best wellbeing and education programs and the best opportunity to not just be good players, but good people,” he said.

“And then when they transition to retirement they have the best protections in place.

“If we were all moving in the same direction, we could be an absolutely formidable force in Australian sport.”

Sydney Roosters and Australian captain James Tedesco on Wednesday said he was hopeful the issue could be put to bed.

“We’re waiting,” Tedesco said.

“We have full faith in the RPA and Clint Newton to be getting the job done. For us it is about focusing on playing and getting the year started.

“Hopefully we can get it all sorted soon.”

Asked whether he could rule out protests this weekend, Tedesco said: ”It is all hypothetical at the moment. For us at the club, we just want to play.”