NRL and players still millions apart as they haggle over future

The NRL and their players are headed for tense discussions next week as they attempt to bridge a gap of more than $20m.

The Broncos are strong enough to weather the storm but others may not be as fortunate. Picture: Getty Images

The NRL and their players are headed for tense discussions next week as they attempt to bridge a gap of more than $20m over their respective financial expectations for what is left of this season and the following two years.

The NRL briefed clubs bosses on Thursday over the progress of talks with the Rugby League Players Association around the issues such as the salary cap and squad sizes until the end of 2022.

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It became clear that there is plenty of work to do, despite talk that they wanted to have the game’s financial future resolved by the end of July.

That timeline now looks to have been ambitious, with the parties still some distance apart.

The cost savings have been earmarked to rescue clubs from financial disaster as they deal with the ongoing fallout from COVID-19. As well as the salary cap and football cap, officials are exploring savings that could result in State of Origin payments being slashed later this year.

Clubs, meanwhile, are counting their pennies as they brace for the impact of the pandemic to be felt not just this year, but next year as well. Their plight was highlighted on Thursday when the Broncos released their half-year forecast, announcing their profit was poised to drop by more than $1m.

Chairman Karl Morris and the Broncos board have managed to remain in profit. Picture: Peter Wallis

In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, the Broncos said that their revenues were expected to drop by more than $8 million, down to about $17m for the half year, due to the ongoing battle with coronavirus.

The Broncos have been a financial juggernaut under chief executive Paul White, but the club has been hit hard by restrictions on crowds that have created a ripple effect across sponsorship, membership and merchandise.

If the Broncos are battling, heaven help the other clubs across the game. With no blue sky in sight, the impact for clubs will be dire unless they can strike a deal with the players that eases some of the financial burden.

There has been talk that the salary cap could be slashed by up to 5 per cent and squad sizes could be cut to 28 – each club currently has 30 players in its top squad.

The Broncos are strong enough to weather the storm but others may not be as fortunate, unless they can find a way to work out a deal with the players.

“The current period result reflects the negative impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic restrictions on the business,” the Broncos said in a statement.

“The whole of NRL game has been negatively impacted with only the first round of the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership being played to regular crowd attendance.

“The second round, our first home game, was played with no crowd in attendance. The 2020 season was suspended on 24 March 2020 and over the ensuing period the business acted quickly, making hard decisions to rationalise, to be in the best possible position to navigate through the uncertain times.

“The 2020 season recommenced on 28 May 2020 with our second home game played to no crowd. From round six, limited crowds were permitted to attend NRL matches. This compares with six games played under normal circumstances in the comparative period.”

The Broncos have battled on the field this year, having won only three of their 11 games.

Remarkably, the club has been able to maintain a profit for the half-year but acknowledged the current environment made it difficult to project how they would be placed at the end of the year.