Greg Inglis tips top names to stay in NRL following new broadcast rights deal

RABBITOHS superstar Greg Inglis says the new $1 billion TV deal will stop league's biggest names switching codes - starting with him.

RABBITOHS superstar Greg Inglis says the new $1 billion TV deal will stop league's biggest names switching codes - starting with him.

Among a host of NRL poster boys currently renegotiating contracts, Inglis yesterday insisted his future would now remain in league and suggested the days of losing players like Sonny Bill Williams, Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau were over.

Signed with the Bunnies until the end of 2013, the Queensland Origin star has previously been linked to French rugby, Australian Rules and the NFL. But the South Sydney fullback suggested the new TV deal - which he and his management team "had been keeping one eye on" - would ensure the game's best players no longer need to switch of codes to find their true earning potential.

"I was just talking to a few of the boys about it now ... how the big name players, they're not going to be leaving the code early anymore," Inglis said at Redfern Oval yesterday. "We're going to see a lot of guys re-signing to stay in rugby league."

Asked if this meant there would no longer be any talk of Inglis switching, he laughed: "Oh, there will always be talk but I can't see myself switching codes, no.

"I probably won't finalise my own deal until next year - but I love it here at Souths."

As revealed by The Daily Telegraph earlier this year, the Rugby League Players Association is pushing for a salary cap rise to represent 25 per cent of "Total Game Revenue".

Under the new deal announced yesterday, that would equate to a growth in the cap from $4.2 million to around $6 million - in the process enabling superstars like Inglis and Johnathan Thurston to break $1 million.

"This deal is certainly going to help players at the top of the tree, help keep them in our game, which is fantastic," Association chief executive David Garnsey said. "But importantly, we want all players to receive a fair share of revenue."

Michael Crocker agreed, urging the Commission to put a chunk toward increasing the $60,000 NRL minimum wage.

"We need to look after them," he said.