NRL 2017: There will be losers all around due to drawn-out salary cap debacle writes Paul Crawley
SOMEONE needs to put a rocket under the NRL and get the salary cap sorted. The longer it goes on you just know the biggest losers will not be the superstars.
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SOMEONE needs to put a rocket under the NRL and get this salary cap debacle for 2018 sorted.
The longer it goes on you just know the biggest losers will not be the superstars who command the massive salaries.
It will be the NRL battlers who get shafted once again. Right now clubs are trying to finalise their rosters for next year and as it stands they still have no clue how much money they are allowed to spend.
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Cowboys coach Paul Green spoke about his frustrations this week and suggested “it needs to be sorted out as a matter of priority”.
Good luck with that.
As far back as the start of September leading player agent Steve Gillis was beating the same drum.
Gillis said an anticipated 70 per cent of the game’s talent was coming off contract at the end of 2017.
“We know what the TV deal is for 2018 and beyond and we have a fair idea of what the game is generating,” Gillis said at the time.
“How we cannot come up with some genuine salary cap guidelines is a mystery.”
Remember, that was September.
We are now in February.
Still no answer.
In fact, there is every likelihood it won’t be sorted for some months, perhaps not until the end of the season.
As Green said: “How can you sign players or operate your business not knowing what your revenue or turnover is going to be, or what the cap is for next year?”
The NRL has been talking with the RLPA over the CBA for months.
As they dawdle through the process, like they are in charge of splitting the atom, everyone knows it’s the explosion that will follow that will cause the major problems.
The Cowboys aren’t the only club with a string of players coming off contract at the end of the year.
Throw in the Dragons, the Wests Tigers, every club has their own issues.
We read about them every day.
Today it was Josh Dugan and Gareth Widdop in a standoff with St George Illawarra.
Johnathan Thurston also expressed his concerns this week.
There wouldn’t be a club out their budgeting below $9 million, and the talk is several are anticipating spending considerably more.
Whichever way it goes, there will be a blow-up.
If clubs are budgeting for $9 million and it comes in at $10 million, the players who have signed will have been short-changed.
At the other end of the scale, what happens if clubs come in over budget and rivals aren’t in a position to take up the slack, because their caps are also at the limit?
Do you really think it will be the superstars pushed out, or the blokes down the bottom of the pay scale?
Some clubs have even gone as far as locking in their entire squad beyond this year, without knowing what the cap will be.
So who will be to blame if they are then forced to move on some of those players, and they have nowhere to go?
The NRL decision-makers have had ample time to come up with a resolution.
Once again they are dragging the chain that will eventually end up a noose around someone else’s neck.
That much we do know.
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