NRL Rich 100 List 2022: Phil Rothfield reveals salary cap mismanagement, top-paid players in every position
Desperation at club level doesn’t always equate to success when panic buying is involved. See why the Titans, the Wests Tigers and the Warriors probably understand that better than most.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The NRL Rich 100 has shown up glaring cases of salary cap mismanagement across the game.
The desperate clubs, coaches and recruitment staff who have attempted to buy immediate success but failed.
How they have put quick-fix, million-dollar signings ahead of investing in pathways and junior development.
These days no one has the patience for a five-year plan or a strategic rebuild.
Everything is about urgency.
Veteran player agent Steve Gillis sums it up well.
Stream every game of every round of the 2022 NRL Telstra Premiership Season Live & Ad-Break Free During Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
“Coaches are under pressure and boards are under pressure,” he says, “then the fans get frustrated and start handing in their memberships.
“Then panic and the knee jerk decisions follow.
“They buy someone big without thinking that mistakes can be costly and affect their rosters for years. Panic buying doesn’t pay dividends.”
It’s why clubs like the Gold Coast Titans, the Wests Tigers and the New Zealand Warriors have had abysmal seasons.
* The Titans have two underperforming forwards – David Fifita and Jarrod Wallace – soaking up $1.7 million of their cap.
* The Warriors have Dallin Watene-Zelezniak ($800k) and Matt Lodge ($900k) still on their books.
* The Wests Tigers have got Luke Brooks (960k) and previously had Moses Mbye on $900k.
* The Bulldogs have English forward Luke Thompson ($750k).
This is not a criticism of any of these players. They just took what was being offered.
Like how do you blame Brooks for the fact the Wests Tigers haven’t played finals football for more than a decade when the board and the management have chopped and changed coaches and been too slow to build good pathways systems out of a huge nursery in Campbelltown.
For years they have overpaid players to try to buy their way out of trouble.
Moses Mbye, Josh Reynolds, Russell Packer and Joey Leilua to name a handful.
Their performance against the Cronulla Sharks in Tamworth on Saturday night showed how far off the pace they still currently are.
You look at the recruitment at the Gold Coast Titans.
Who made the decision to pay Fifita so much money?
Who made the decision to release Jamal Fogarty to the Canberra Raiders?
SCROLL DOWN TO FIND OUT THE TOP 100 NRL EARNERS FOR 2022
The Broncos are going to be an interesting test case on responsible cap management in upcoming negotiations with front-rower Payne Haas.
He’s on $750,000 this year but his agent wants $1 million.
Not that the club’s head of football Ben Ikin will talk publicly about individuals.
More generally he says: “It’s about extracting as much value out of $9.5 million as you can.
“You need to build a football program that gets players to stay for less money because they love the environment, they’re learning, they’re growing and most importantly winning.”
Ikin is referring to the likes of Storm and the Roosters.
They both share plenty of top 100 rich-listers but are getting more bang for their buck than their rivals.
NRL Rich 100: Four Queenslanders crack top 10 cash earners
Queenslanders only make up a fifth of the players in the NRL but are some of the game’s highest paid stars. See the salaries and get the latest contract information.
NRL Rich 100: Fans tip which players deserve big bucks
We revealed the salaries of the top earners in the NRL and then asked you to let us know who was overpaid and who was on the money — this is what you said.