I agree that RL players probably deserve more than what they are getting (I'll explain why in a moment) and I do think that the game needs to keep pace with the market - both within the Rugby codes and in relation to the wider Australian sports market - so as to protect our supply of quality talent. But that said, I think there are plenty of other areas in the game that need to be better funded too. These include closing the gap between club grants and the salary cap so as to ensure financial security for our clubs (and lessen the reliance on income from sources like poker machines) and to guarantee the level of wages we already pay the players. And it of course includes better funding to junior development and better funding to second tier competitions so that the game can maintain a major presence in short term NRL prospects like Perth and Wellington and longer term growth centres like Toowoomba, Darwin and Albury/Wodonga. So the players are by no means the only ones who deserve more money and they are perhaps not even the most pressing at this point.
But as I said, I do believe they deserve more money and here's why. The average annual wage for a male Australian is currently in the region of $55,000 - $60,000. Over a typical working life time of about 45 years they could therefore be reasonably expected to earn around $2.5m. A RL player's career is of course much shorter - a decade at the top grade is pretty good, 15 years is exceptional. Five or six years is probably more the norm. Ignoring post football earnings for a moment, a player would have to earn in the area of half a million per year for five years to match the career earnings of the average Australian male over 45 years. But based on a salary cap of $4m divided between a squad of 25 players we are currently seeing an average of around $160,000 per year or about a third of what they'd need to be to put RL players on par with the average full working life for Australian males.
Of course there are opportunities for post football earnings and football related endorsements so these figures are not entirely accurate. But it must be kept in mind that by pursuing a RL career, the majority of players who do not find post career opportunities within the game, are at a considerable disadvantage in the work force because they are starting a decade behind their competition. Football is no substitute for an apprenticeship or tertiary eduction and five or so six years of industry experience. So where does the correct wage level lie for our stars? In my humble opinion it is probably at least double the current wage level and somewhere between that and three times the current wage level. But it is most certainly not in the area of multiple millions per year. American and Soccer wages of $10m per year and up are just obscene. While there remain homeless people on the streets, families living in poverty and the disgrace of some of our remote Aboriginal communities I don't see how we can in good conscious justify such gross excess in a country built on the fair go.
But as I said at the top, there are plenty of other areas of the game that are crying out for funding too. And there's no point even considering wage rises until the game actually has the money to spend. That's where the real challenge lies - which is exactly what PHaC has pointed out.
Leigh.
