Adrian Proszenko
Broken and almost broke: How did it come to this for the NRL?
In 2014, well before coronavirus had threatened to wipe the NRL off the face of the planet, the Australian Rugby League Commission set up a "sustainability fund".
"Like private sector companies, the NRL is creating a reserve to ensure it has financial security to withstand any unforeseen events," the NRL spruiked in a statement at the time.
Given recent events, it appeared a prudent move. Within two years there was $54.6 million in the bank, well on the way to reaching the goal of having at least $80 million squirreled away by 2017. Money that would have come in handy right about now.
But in a decision that will long haunt them – and go some way towards explaining how Rugby League Central could find itself broke within three months if games are called off – the fund was liquidated just three years after it was established.
It was set up for a rainy day and now it’s pissing down and the NRL hasn't got a single umbrella or a poncho or anything because of that decision," said one source. "It was the worst type of corporate governance."
The fund was to be overseen by a committee that included commissioners Graeme Samuel and Jeremy Sutcliffe. They stepped down from their roles shortly after the cash was instead diverted to the 16 NRL clubs and the establishment of a digital operation. Those with knowledge of the situation claim the pair were so concerned about the ARLC’s direction that they no longer wanted to be associated with it.
It is one of many decisions that have left the NRL on the brink. The vast majority of clubs, despite being funded to the tune of 130 per cent of their salary cap, were already in the red before COVID-19 struck. They have been given a further $425,000 in emergency funding from head office, but in the current environment it won’t last long. Such is their ability to squander money that the NRL placed a cap on football department expenditure in 2017 in the hope it would prevent them from spending themselves into oblivion.
The $5.7 million handbrake has done little to stop the madness.
When Penrith sparked a 2018 off-season coaching merry-go-round by sacking Anthony Griffin with more than two years to run on his contract – the Panthers were on the cusp of the top four at the time – they became one of six clubs to change coaches during that summer. For all the millions of dollars wasted, only one of those teams climbed the premiership ladder the following year.
Yet the focus is squarely on how Rugby League Central has allowed itself to become so financially vulnerable. Unlike the AFL, which owns Marvel Stadium, the NRL doesn’t own a single asset. It doesn’t even own the land on which its headquarters are built, ignoring advice to invest in the Moore Park precinct more than a decade ago. When things got tight three years ago and they applied for a $30 million loan, the banks turned them away.
Having blown up their sustainability fund, their business model has been found to be unsustainable.
The NRL’s real cash position is believed to be just $70 million, once $70 million worth of liabilities are taken into account. That is why they have had to go cap in hand to the government in a bid to survive.
"We should have had more cash," ARL chairman Peter V’landys told The Sun-Herald. "People think I’m being over the top, but if anything I’ve underestimated it, I’ve played it down. It’s catastrophic. That’s the only word you could use."
When the ARLC was formed in 2012, inaugural commissioner Gary Pemberton – a former chairman of Qantas, Billabong and Racing NSW – implored the body to put away $50 million in savings each year. Despite the latest $1.8 billion broadcast deal, there is now little in the kitty.
They should have been putting $50 million away per year at least as savings," V’Landys said. "If they did that from the very beginning when they got their first [big] broadcast deals, they would have $500 million. We wouldn’t be in this position."
So where has all the money gone?
Executive salaries spiralled out of control under previous NRL chief executive Dave Smith. Shane Richardson, Suzanne Young, Lewis Pullen, Michael Brown and Sandy Olsen were hired on big money, yet made little impression during their time at Rugby League Central.
Several commercial decisions also remain baffling. Like appointing Sportsbet as the NRL’s official wagering partner without going through a proper tender process. A rival operator, that never got the opportunity to pitch for the deal, claims his firm was willing to pay up to $40 million more to secure the rights.
All this has come at a time when rugby league is a difficult sell to corporate Australia. The players – on an average income of more than $300,000 – dazzle with their skill on the field, yet are stereotyped for acts of stupidity off it. The NRL claimed it lost more than $10 million of sponsorship revenue due to off-field incidents during the "summer of hell" that was the 2019 pre-season. Further, NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg claimed "hundreds of millions of dollars" of broadcast revenue would be lost if not for the introduction of the no-fault stand-down rule.
Some players still don't get it. The Bulldogs Port Macquarie scandal cost the club a $2 million major sponsorship deal with family restaurant chain Rashays.
The Rugby League Players Association has already flagged the prospect of pay cuts for its members if coronavirus results in football being shut down. There will be little choice given $13 million of broadcast money will be lost for every round that isn’t shown on television.
Even if the current broadcast commitments are fulfilled – an unlikely scenario given the rapid spread of the virus – there is every chance the value of the next deal will fall.
Of the current partners, Foxtel is under significant financial pressure and Channel 9 – the publishers of this masthead – has had mixed results in a tough industry. And that's before COVID-19 hit.
While a host of new platforms, such as Google, Netflix and Facebook – often dubbed as "disruptors" to traditional media – are emerging, they may not do so in time to make a play for the next broadcast cycle.
Perhaps some good will yet come from all of this. If nothing else it is a reminder that rugby league is not immune from COVID-19, or any other unsuspected threats. The game is about to undergo a correction that is long overdue.
"You learn from history and this is a very valuable history lesson," V’landys said.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/br...come-to-this-for-the-nrl-20200321-p54cix.html
