A solution to the NRL problems maybe ?

[OVP]

Its really quite simple. The Salary Cap is designed to stop clubs from going broke, and it works very well in that respect, and it also helps even up the competition which is great too in my opinion. However the biggest bug bear to the players themselves is the fact that their earning capacity is greatly reduced, and thats fair enough too. I agree with them.

Instead of scrapping the Salary Cap, why not simply scrap all rules related to third party payments instead ? Gallop, at the moment, argues that not all clubs attract the same amount of corporate support. But who's fault is that ? If your club is not marketable enough, then sack the board and hire people who WILL make it marketable.

I think this would encourage much more corporate support into our game, and thats exactly what the fans AND the players want. They want to make as much money as they can in their limited timeframe that they can play our game. With this we will get to keep far more players in our game, and they will thus be rewarded with corporate endorsements.

If a company wants to even sponsor a player themselves, then why should they be stopped from doing so ? Dont you think this is a far better way to manage our game and its players than scrapping the Sydney clubs or even the Salary Cap itself ?

I cant think of too many things wrong with this idea. IF you can, then please post away

 

[Man_of_Steel_1982]

I agree.

On top of that, play more tests and promote the Kangaroos as a "brand". National players would receive more attention irrespective of which club they played for.

 

[Johns Magic]

Isn't this already allowed, as long as the third party isn't a sponsor of the club?

 

[Perth Red]

Interesting that the RU had to look at 3rd party payments after the Force came along with stacks of companies behind them and signed up heaps of good players. Other clubs were screaming how unfair it was!

Personally I agree that if a club can get a company to pay 3rd party payment then it is good business on their part. You have to be for warned though that Brisbane are likely to win the NRL for the next 10 years so be prepared, what you wish for may not always be what you want!

 

[OVP]

Isn't this already allowed, as long as the third party isn't a sponsor of the club?

But who cares if its a club sponsor or not ? Why limit what the sponsors are able to do in our game ?

 

[salivor]

The major wrong for me is what would be the point with persisting with the salary cap? The purpose of the salary cap is to create an even playing field. If you don't have a limit at some point on third party payments then it becomes a case of those clubs with the greatest corporate support can stock pile players and you move into a free for all environment. I'm slowly starting to wonder if that's the way to go but unlimited 3rd party payments isn't the answer IMO. If we're going down that track we may as well be honest with ourselves and just scrap the cap outright.

I believe I heard that the limit on 3rd party payments currently is $150k per club which is pretty pathetic when you think about it. I'd support raising it to $500k or 1 million whatever needs to be done to stop some of the rot (as I don't believe we have the funds to compete with European Union and stop it entirely) but there has to be a limit set somewhere if you want to keep that level playing field. Along with further concessions for juniors and long serving players and an increase in the cap is somewhere where the answer lies IMO.

 

[Johns Magic]

But who cares if its a club sponsor or not ? Why limit what the sponsors are able to do in our game ?

Because clubs could get their sponsors to pay the players' wages instead without it coming under the salary cap.

 

[OVP]

The major wrong for me is what would be the point with persisting with the salary cap? The purpose of the salary cap is to create an even playing field. If you don't have a limit at some point on third party payments then it becomes a case of those clubs with the greatest corporate support can stock pile players and you move into a free for all environment. I'm slowly starting to wonder if that's the way to go but unlimited 3rd party payments isn't the answer IMO. If we're going down that track we may as well be honest with ourselves and just scrap the cap outright.

I believe I heard that the limit on 3rd party payments currently is $150k per club which is pretty pathetic when you think about it. I'd support raising it to $500k or 1 million whatever needs to be done to stop some of the rot (as I don't believe we have the funds to compete with European Union and stop it entirely) but there has to be a limit set somewhere if you want to keep that level playing field. Along with further concessions for juniors and long serving players and an increase in the cap is somewhere where the answer lies IMO.

Good post Sali ... you've got me thinking hehe

OK then ... maybe the way to stop clubs from stockpiling all the talent is maybe the dreaded "draft". The players get to keep their 3rd party sponsorships as well that way too. This sort of thinking is the way of the future imo ... not the scrapping of the Sydney Clubs or getting rid of the cap.

 

[OVP]

Because clubs could get their sponsors to pay the players' wages instead without it coming under the salary cap.

Now add a draft into the equation, and i dont have a problem with that. Maybe if we get all the players and CEO's together and nut it all out together ... we could have a draft + Salary Cap + unlimited earning capacity for the players. We could then look at further expansion down the track and then truly challenge the AFL as a national competition. Would that work ?

 

[salivor]

Because clubs could get their sponsors to pay the players' wages instead without it coming under the salary cap.

That's the problem IMO but If you set a limit in place that every club can spend then I don't think it should matter whether the corporate sponsor is already aligned with the club or not. Some clubs struggle to find any corporate support let alone trying to find outside sponsors to throw further money at their players.

Good post Sali ... you've got me thinking hehe

OK then ... maybe the way to stop clubs from stockpiling all the talent is maybe the dreaded "draft". The players get to keep their 3rd party sponsorships as well that way too. This sort of thinking is the way of the future imo ... not the scrapping of the Sydney Clubs or getting rid of the cap.

Was it Terry Hill that said if the NRL ever tried it on the RLPA would challenge a draft in court as it's not legal? I think the RLPA is pretty anti the idea so it'd be a hard one to get off the ground.

 

[OVP]

Was it Terry Hill that said if the NRL ever tried it on the RLPA would challenge a draft in court as it's not legal? I think the RLPA is pretty anti the idea so it'd be a hard one to get off the ground.

Yeah it was Terry Hill, but im sure if they all got together and worked on this idea the RLPA wont be so anti as it wont really limit their earning capacity anymore.

Lets use the AFL model to eventually beat them at their own game. I bet they'd start to panic if we worked all this out properly hehe

 

[Michelle Leslie]

2 players per team on an uncapped amount that is set at $350k per player under the cap.
OVP dude u are right, it aint that hard and the top 32 earn the most cash!

 

[salivor]

I'm a Kiwi so excuse my AFL ignorance but wasn't their draft brought in when it was an all Melbourne competition? I think it'd be harder to convince the players when we have teams in across 3 states, a territory and another country.

Also from what I see the AFL seems to be mainly made up of white and Aboriginal players. We on the other hand have a strong and ever increasing Polynesian player base and we know how much importance their culture places on home and family. There wouldn't be a great deal of Polynesian teenagers rising through the ranks that would want to be shipped off away from home to the likes Melbourne or Canberra away from their families.

 

[adamkungl]

Imo cap concessions for long service and developing young players and juniors would solve every problem regarding limiting the earning potential of players like Gasnier. The benefits are numerous, the negatives, as far as I can see, are nonexistant, and the cap would still penalise clubs for trying to buy a competition. My only issue with the current cap (other than its size, I would prefer it be higher but I agree at the moment it is not feasible) is that it doesn't care whether a player is a local junior, has been develoepd since he was 15, and leaves no room for loyalty. Some tweaking is all that's needed.

 

[jimmythehand]

a ridiculous idea, it just creates a big loophole which would in effect get rid of the salary cap.

 

[salivor]

Totally agree adamkungl, the only counter argument I've seen put up against junior concessions is that it favours some of the Sydney and Queensland sides with big areas to draw from and penalises clubs without that such as the Roosters. I think Melbourne have showed though that just because you don't have the junior numbers or the area size in your local region to draw from doesn't stop you developing juniors elsewhere and bringing them up through the grades like they've done in Queensland.

 

[adamkungl]

Totally agree adamkungl, the only counter argument I've seen put up against junior concessions is that it favours some of the Sydney and Queensland sides with big areas to draw from and penalises clubs without that such as the Roosters. I think Melbourne have showed though that just because you don't have the junior numbers or the area size in your local region to draw from doesn't stop you developing juniors elsewhere and bringing them up through the grades like they've done in Queensland.

Roosters might not have many local juniors but our scouting and development of young players seems pretty top notch. I wouldn't make such a concessions specific to local juniors for this reason, however I believe the cap should reward teams who bring young blokes into first grade, and even more if its through the U20s.

 

[LordLeague]

Sounds great. Good to see some of us talking sense! Should allow the top players to earn what the're worth and keep them in the game while also placing the future of Sydney clubs in their own hands.

Other variations to this idea could be:
- 2 completely salary cap exempt players per club
- as above but with further cap exemptions for local juniors

Other variations would work with the finer details negotiated with the clubs and RLPA etc.

Match payments for rep matches should also be increased to add further incentives for the top players to stay, and would force them to perform to get the extra cash on offer!

All the above could be funded easily from current income streams.

No club will be forced to spend extra and will still be able to compete on the field.

LordLeague

 

[salivor]

Roosters might not have many local juniors but our scouting and development of young players seems pretty top notch. I wouldn't make such a concessions specific to local juniors for this reason, however I believe the cap should reward teams who bring young blokes into first grade, and even more if its through the U20s.

Agreed that's how it should work that if you debut the player in first grade regardless of where they're originally from then you get the concession while they remain at the club.

 

[Cletus]

If News Corp stopped taking $8 million a year out of the NRL that could be put towards the salary cap. Plus I'm sure the NRL could cut some fat.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/h...claws-in-league/2007/03/09/1173166982379.html