The Parramatta salary cap drama has finally been dealt with by the NRL. Pending Parramatta's rights to appeal the decision, we can all be satisfied that a thorough investigation has been conducted and the NRL is confident in justifying the penalties it has imposed.
I guess many people will have been staggered by the magnitude of the breaches that have been alleged by the NRL. This follows on from other major salary cap penalties imposed over the last decade on the Bulldogs, Warriors and Melbourne Storm.
I asked a question at the time of the Melbourne Storm debacle in 2010, and I am asking the same question again now six years later so what have we learned?
Why did Parramatta do this? For that matter, why have any of the clubs that have been heavily penalised in this manner, commit the breaches they did?
What Parramatta did is wrong and they will pay a heavy penalty for these breaches. But I honestly believe we need to look at the structure of our game and the nature of the environment that has been created, to see if there are measures we can take to ensure our game doesn't have to keep going through such sad circumstances.
It's easy for people to say that the rules are in place, so it's black and white that you follow the rules or you pay the penalty. I know that all sounds very simple; and it would be perfectly fine if you believe that every other club was also following the rules. But for those people working in NRL clubs, whose responsibility it is to keep their team competitive in this premiership race against all other NRL clubs, the reality is that things are not so simple.
The major problem is that the market for quality players is constantly overheated. The market forces which determine the price of footballers are inflationary. For as long as I can remember, these market forces have driven the price of all footballers and hence the cost of fielding a competitive team, well beyond the salary cap of the day. The market price for marquee players is determined by a false market, fuelled by third-party sponsorships, to levels well beyond the reach of most of the NRL clubs.
There is a lack of trust amongst the clubs, rightly or wrongly, that other clubs are playing by the rules. The constant perception and rumours that tell us there are several NRL clubs spending anything from $1 million to even $3 million over the salary cap level each year thanks to private sponsorships. Whether these rumours or perceptions are true or not, whether these extra payments are actually legal or not, weighs heavily on the minds on those in charge of clubs who do not have access to such support.
This is a results based business. No matter how hard they work, it's a reality that club board members, CEOs, coaches and staff are judged pretty much on the results of their football team. The pressure to win is inescapable. The temptation to push the boundaries in the pursuit of success, or sometimes even just to remain competitive, is immense.
The intensity of this working environment is created by a number of factors. The lack of genuine investment in player development by a number of clubs, meaning that too many of our NRL clubs rely too heavily on recruitment to survive. Mind you, who can blame them for not investing in player development, when there exists little or no reward for development in our current salary cap system. Plus development of players takes a long time. Recruiting talented players from other clubs can speed up the journey to success.
Our current competition pathways, which I have said on any number of occasions, are not conducive to producing an adequate supply of new talent each and every year into the NRL system.
The lack of restriction and controls on player movement between NRL clubs for players of all ages, from rookies in the park, to the seasoned international performers, places all the power of negotiation with the player and player managers.
The lack of transparency and knowledge on what rival clubs are REALLY spending on their NRL player rosters, means that rival clubs don't even know what they're chasing. They are chasing this imaginary or perceived target of what money you need to spend to be competitive.
Gone: Parramatta chairman Steve Sharp.
Gone: Parramatta chairman Steve Sharp. Photo: Shu Yeung
The brutal truth about the NRL competition these days is the very real belief that if you want a football team that consistently wins matches and has the depth of talent to consistently challenge for finals football and even premiership titles, then you need to be spending more than the salary cap of the day. Run your eye over the top 25 playing rosters for the 16 NRL clubs and tell me in all honesty you think every club is spending the same amount of money.
Not for one moment am I suggesting that clubs who do regularly spend more money than the salary cap are doing so illegally, because we know there are several clubs who have access to tremendous corporate support. These third-party sponsorships are legal and the players are entitled to earn as much as they can if the corporate world sees value in their brand. It's just that some clubs derive greater benefit from this corporate support than others. The game can't hide from this fact.
I don't support what Parramatta has done, but by the same token, I don't think that the current whole of game structure itself is totally blameless either.
What Parramatta has done is wrong. It's an obvious breach of the rules. If the magnitude of the reported illegal payments is correct, it's staggering to think that anyone at the club could ever believe they wouldn't be caught in the end. Many innocent people have been punished as a result. Whether or not today's Parramatta, the coaches, players and fans, should be punished so heavily for the actions of others in the past; well, this question will no doubt be debated for some time to come.
But to ensure these circumstances are never repeated, I ask again; so what have we learned? Even more importantly, does our game have someone with the knowledge, the power and the courage to make the necessary changes, so it doesn't happen again?
2. How were the Eels allowed to start the year so far over the cap?
Prior to every season, every NRL club is supposedly subjected to an audit by the NRL to ensure they start the new season with a top 25 playing roster that is under the salary cap. The rules clearly state that you cannot start the season if your roster is not under the cap.
Incoming: Michael Gordon was another star lured to the Eels during the off-season.
Incoming: Michael Gordon was another star lured to the Eels during the off-season. Photo: Ian Hitchcock
The NRL knew that Parramatta had breached its salary caps for the last three seasons. The Eels then went on an extraordinary buying spree in the off-season to secure the signatures of players such as Kieran Foran, Michael Jennings, Michael Gordon and Beau Scott.
Yet the NRL didn't suspect, or at least their pre-season audit didn't reveal, that the Eels were almost $600,000 over the salary cap before a ball was kicked in season 2016? How are they allowed to start the season with their salary cap in that shape?
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