Financial fragility of the game

[flippikat]

I would love to have these whinging players/clubs actually give firm answers on where this $50mil should have been take from each year...

Should it have come from juniors or advertising? Or should it have come from the salary cap or clubs grants?

Mhhh, easy to whinge when you aren’t responsible or accountable at the end...

Y'know.. the more I hear of this, the more I'm warming to your "Damn them all, let it burn. All of it" conclusion.

Maybe a completely clean slate is *necessary* to build a rugby league competition that fulfills the game's potential?

 

[Cactus]

I don’t know how it could be done but what this sport really needs is for the decision making surrounding the long term, future proofing of the game be separated from the remaining short and medium term decision making that requires all of the stakeholder/partner agreements (especially players & club land).

Let the ARLC have the overriding authority to plan and implement decisions for those strategic goals whilst maintaining transparency via its annual report to the plethora of stakeholders.

This is where Gus & Politis & people like them need to change their thinking.

 

[Quicksilver]

Really a lot of the squeeze is due to player salaries.

They should be paid well but they take too much pie.

In the upcoming recession their football skills won't be worth shit.

 

[Perth Red]

Really a lot of the squeeze is due to player salaries.

They should be paid well but they take too much pie.

In the upcoming recession their football skills won't be worth shit.

it’s not really, players salaries only account for around 30-40% of club expenditure. That is pretty low. We need decent competitive salaries to keep the best talent in the game. The real problem is where the clubs are spending the rest of the money. The nrl has brought in a football cap of around $6mill. So with player wages and football operations we are at $16million. Even the lowest revenue clubs are bringing in around $24million a year. Some clubs are spending over $30million a year. The nrl and clubs should have an agreement to cap total spending at around the $22-23million a year mark meaning every club would be able to put away at least $1million a year into a future fund and some much more. Clubs could apply for greater expenditure on certain items such as fan engagement, membership growth, asset building activities, revenue generation projects, community work etc. if they have the money in the bank to do so. If the clubs want the nrl to be able to bail them out if this happens again then the nrl needs to draw the line and restrict club spending.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

A couple of thoughts on this whole thing:

1. The players were made 'partners of the game' with the latest TV deal, that means wearing some of the downside too.

2. Rugby League (or any established, well followed sport for that matter) is not going to die, even if the NRL as an organisation does. Once the virus settles and the economy recovers, there will be an appetite for Rugby League from the millions of us that love the game and a competition in one form or another will get going again. Maybe it's not a bad thing if the NRL goes out of business and we start a new national comp all over again. Might save them some tough decisions that would have had to make sooner or later anyway.

 

[Perth Red]

A couple of thoughts on this whole thing:

1. The players were made 'partners of the game' with the latest TV deal, that means wearing some of the downside too.

2. Rugby League (or any established, well followed sport for that matter) is not going to die, even if the NRL as an organisation does. Once the virus settles and the economy recovers, there will be an appetite for Rugby League from the millions of us that love the game and a competition in one form or another will get going again. Maybe it's not a bad thing if the NRL goes out of business and we start a new national comp all over again. Might save them some tough decisions that would have had to make sooner or later anyway.

1. seems payers are finally waking up to this.
2. Nrl won’t go bust. They have money in the bank and still 3 years if guaranteed revenue locked in, they would if need Be lay off staff and cut club payments an other grants to grassroots in the interim then just pick it all up again once it’s all over.

 

[titoelcolombiano]

1. seems payers are finally waking up to this.
2. Nrl won’t go bust. They have money in the bank and still 3 years if guaranteed revenue locked in, they would if need Be lay off staff and cut club payments an other grants to grassroots in the interim then just pick it all up again once it’s all over.

I tend to agree with you on that second point. I just don't think it would necessarily be a bad thing if they went bust. The game would go on and we may get a more balanced national competition rise from the ashes. I'm sure many in the game (especially expansionists) have had the thought... how would we go about it if we started the comp from scratch today. I think we've even had a few threads on this forum about it.

 

[Quicksilver]

I hope air travel is economical after the collapse.

 

[Front-Rower]

Unionised workforce in show here.

gimme gimme gimme

next minute

what, no money? How dare you mis manage your finances

 

[Vee]

Lol, Joey Leilua giving financial advice, the world truly has gone cuckoo caca.

Only if you listen to it. Lots of morons give misinformed critiques.

 

[Vee]

You could see that coming about one line into the article. Fox/News Corp struggling in Australia so here is a chance to drive down the contract deal with the NRL and disguise it as long term stability

Nothing but a piece of spin doctoring.

What's hartigan doing these days?

 

[flippikat]

I tend to agree with you on that second point. I just don't think it would necessarily be a bad thing if they went bust. The game would go on and we may get a more balanced national competition rise from the ashes. I'm sure many in the game (especially expansionists) have had the thought... how would we go about it if we started the comp from scratch today. I think we've even had a few threads on this forum about it.

Spot on.

Sydney is the oversaturated jumble it is today and the competition doesn't have a nationwide footprint *because* the competition's transition from suburban to nationwide/trans-Tasman was ad-hoc, ham-fisted, war-torn, and stunted by self-interested parties (and I'm pointing at News as much as the Sydney group of NRL clubs).

Building an independent, nationwide competition from scratch has a great deal of appeal to me as an unashamed expansionist - and if that can be used to get a footprint that leverages a great TV deal, then all the better. It means we can genuinely put away a solid "rainy day" fund for the NEXT global shock.

 

[President Trump]

Should have bought insurance.

 

[Canard]

You can't insurance for this sort of thing.

 

[T-Boon]

Really a lot of the squeeze is due to player salaries.

They should be paid well but they take too much pie.

In the upcoming recession their football skills won't be worth shit.

Go to 11 aside.

 

[BunniesMan]

Think of how far revenue has grown in 10 years. The Gallop years when the TV money was a fraction of what it is now. How is it possible that the managers of the game could take in that enormous growth and not set aside a decent chunk each year for a rainy day.

It's like a bloke gets an entry level 40k a year job after uni. A few years down the track his career is doing well and he is earning 250k a year. But despite that vast growth, he is on the verge of bankruptcy from a temporary interruption to his earnings. That tells you he has done an appalling job at managing his finances.

 

[Perth Red]

Nrl revenue growth over last 8 years

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Think of how far revenue has grown in 10 years. The Gallop years when the TV money was a fraction of what it is now. How is it possible that the managers of the game could take in that enormous growth and not set aside a decent chunk each year for a rainy day.

It's like a bloke gets an entry level 40k a year job after uni. A few years down the track his career is doing well and he is earning 250k a year. But despite that vast growth, he is on the verge of bankruptcy from a temporary interruption to his earnings. That tells you he has done an appalling job at managing his finances.

Actually, the anaolgy works better with a single dad of 16 who was on minimum wage suddenly getting a huge pay rise...

The kids were great hard-workers, pitching in and helping everyone get by. Then, suddenly, they all become petulant, entitled trust fund kids who deserve everything and shouldnt have to lift a finger. All the while, they are treating to leave and f*ck dad over if he doesnt shell out every last cent.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Y'know.. the more I hear of this, the more I'm warming to your "Damn them all, let it burn. All of it" conclusion.

Maybe a completely clean slate is *necessary* to build a rugby league competition that fulfills the game's potential?

Not necesarily clean slate, but the clubs (particularly the Sydney faction) needs to be brought to heel...

The big advantage the VFL have over us is there club licencing. Where the NRL clubs can threaten to leave if they dont get all the $$ from the tv deals, the VFL can tell the clubs to get rooted.

The ARLC needs to use any bailout to put a collar on at least a few of these clubs. Then, once the are split, they will all be easier to handle.

 

[Timbo]

If there is a bailout so that players don't have to take paycuts, then I have to say I think it will deeply hurt my interest in the code moving forward.

The idea that taxpayer money could be used so that a bloke on $700k doesn't have to drop his salary to $250k temporarily whilst I'm a casual and will probably need to use all of my savings and max my credit card just so I don't end up living under a bridge is just so deeply immoral to me that it defies belief.