Brisbane boss Paul White reveals the extent of the Broncos pay cuts

Brisbane boss Paul White has revealed the club is facing massive cuts to their $22 million payroll, with White himself to accept a reduction in salary.

Brisbane Broncos CEO Paul White speaks to media at the Brisbane International Airport in Brisbane, Tuesday, November 12, 2019. Emerging Brisbane star David Fifita will face the wrath of the NRL's integrity unit after spending three days behind bars in Bali. (AAP Image/Glenn Hunt) NO ARCHIVING

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Broncos boss Paul White has conceded the NRL’s glamour club will have to endure “some pain” with Brisbane’s $22 million payroll facing a savage cut to keep the franchise alive.

The Broncos will undertake a huge shake-up to the club’s 100-plus employee base while executives, including White, will accept pay cuts to help keep the $52 million powerhouse afloat.

The downside of being the NRL’s richest club is that Brisbane is facing the biggest financial blow following the game’s decision to suspend the 2020 premiership indefinitely.

While the Broncos have $14 million in the bank and will still pocket a $1.2 million grant from the NRL on April 1, the club will be without any form of game day revenue for the foreseeable future.

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Brisbane will have to make some sacrifices. AAP Image/Glenn Hunt.

The Broncos have begun the process of laying off and standing down staff and White said the club faced tough times in what will be his last season in charge.

“We are implementing our own measures internally to ensure the long-term sustainability of our business,” he said.

“That’s critical at this point. It’s moved so fast over the last seven days and invariably will move quickly over the next few months to come.

“It’s an ever-changing environment and we will apply every effort to make sure we will get to the other side of this in reasonable shape.

“We are going to have to take some pain but we will get to the other side in reasonable shape.

“We are dealing with a lot of unknowns outside our control and the government’s control in terms of when the health pandemic will reach its peak and when the government will be able to remove some of the constraints it has in place.”

North Queensland expected their new stadium to be a gamechanger. Picture: Matt Taylor.

The North Queensland Cowboys have been locked in meetings to plot out their future since the NRL’s announcement on Monday night.

The Townsville-based club turned a profit last year and is well-placed to tackle the financial crisis, but they will lose out on not getting to play games at their new $293 million stadium.

Queensland Country Bank Stadium was expected to be a game-changer for the Cowboys this season and help boost the club’s membership, corporate and supporter base.

Cowboys CEO Jeff Reibel said the club was working around-the-clock to tackle the issue.

“Our team is working feverishly behind the scenes to provide the answers that you are all so desperately seeking,” he said.

“This process is no doubt complicated by the uncertainty of how long our games will be suspended, but we are working through the many different scenarios so that we can be in direct contact with our many stakeholders as soon as possible.”

Originally published as Brisbane boss Paul White reveals the extent of the Broncos pay cuts