NRL 2020: State of Origin can save rugby league from COVID-19 pandemic
For four decades State of Origin has proved rugby league’s most important asset both financially and at a human level. But the jewel in the game’s crown will be so much more in 2020, writes DARREN LOCKYER.
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State of Origin has long been rugby league’s showpiece event. Now it can help become the potential financial saviour for its players and ultimately the game.
At a time when NRL players are facing the prospect of massive pay cuts for the next six months, the NRL should seriously consider getting State of Origin back on the rails this season to generate some form of investment to help the code’s most important assets.
If the NRL competition cannot kick-off by September 1, as is hoped, we should still push on with plans to play the 2020 Origin series in October and November, hopefully once we navigate the coronavirus pandemic.
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State of Origin is a massive money spinner for the game. The three games this year were forecast to generate $90 million in revenue. Last year’s series delivered a profit of around $12 million for the NRL’s coffers.
Those sorts of figures would be a crucial injection of funds to ease the pain as the NRL explores every revenue stream possible to balance the wage requirements of players with the need to keep the sport alive.
If the NRL can’t get the premiership up and running with a December grand final, then State of Origin is one way to generate some income for the game and the rest of the players who comprise the entire competition.
Even if the NRL puts a line through the season, playing State of Origin generates tens of millions from a whole-of-game perspective. It would also help whet the appetite for the fans heading into a brave new world in 2021.
The Rugby League Players Association is considering a tiered pay-cut system where the higher-earning players in the game take a bigger financial hit to help their lesser-earning counterparts.
Origin provides the perfect financial mechanism for that.
The 34 players representing NSW and Queensland could generate money to go into the pool to help the rest of their colleagues in the game. The Origin big guns have to be selfless and help others. We are in the trenches here and the top earners in the game have to fight for the battlers on a minimum wage of $80,000.
The general public will also be crying out for some rugby league so State of Origin can be a financial windfall during a difficult time.
On a wider scale, as a father of four myself, it has been immensely difficult to see the many people in Australian society doing it tough.
It’s not easy to see people losing their jobs, and family and friends hurting.
But, just like the football field, when a team is down and out and so many things are going against you, the best chance you have is to help each other. You have to fight for one another and I hope we can do that as Australians at a terribly difficult time.
As Queensland’s flagship team, the Broncos are not immune to the COVID-19 fallout.
The executive team at the Broncos have taken at least 20 per cent pay cuts and the board has taken a 50 per cent cut. We’re in a better position than most clubs but no business is exempt from a global crisis such as this.
Everyone has to manage the bleeding in the short-term, staying calm under pressure and come out the other side with a renewed perspective.
There’s good people and employees who have been at the Broncos for more than 20 years who will be let go. It’s cruel but there’s no other option with the financial state of every business around the world. It’s about survival right now so that rebuilding is still an option.
When the game recalibrates, at the forefront of its mind will be insulating itself financially from any future crisis.
If this saga had come in 10 years’ time, maybe the NRL would have had enough money in the bank to cover a natural disaster, but this COVID-19 crisis will convince the NRL’s decision-makers to think differently for a very long time.
Originally published as NRL 2020: State of Origin can save rugby league from COVID-19 pandemic