NRL players at the bottom of the pile
ROY MASTERS
March 10, 2010
Fast bowler Glenn McGrath was typical of most cricketers and footballers 15 to 20 years ago when he arrived in Sydney from the dusty plains of NSW and vowed to encourage his children to play golf or tennis in order for them to ''earn some real money.''
Since then cricketers have caught up with the golfers and tennis players, becoming the first ''team millionaires'' of Australian sport.
McGrath did not anticipate the money coming into Australian cricket from overseas TV rights, and a new pay deal for Australia's top 25 cricketers will provide them with an average $1 million a year.
Higher than expected earnings for Cricket Australia over the past four years meant its revenue was about $100 million above the $478 million forecast and, under a deal struck with the Australian Cricketers Association, players receive 25 per cent of total revenue generated.
AFL footballers also receive a quarter of total revenue from broadcasting rights, gate takings, sponsorship, merchandising and any other income received by the 16 clubs and the central administration.
Super 14 players receive 26 per cent of what is called ''player generated revenue'', a sum not comparable with total revenue because it excludes income such as foreign exchange earnings, interest received, rent and some grants. Rugby union players receive between 15 and 20 per cent of total revenue, about the same as NRL players..
According to the NRL's chief executive, David Gallop, the NRL receives about $150 million a year and the 16 clubs average receipts of $13 million to $14 million.
Each club has a salary cap of $4.1 million, and all but the Warriors pay the full amount, meaning the wage bill of the clubs in 2010 will be about $65 million. Another $2 million is paid in third-party deals with club-associated sponsors and an additional $3.5 million is paid to about 80 players in NRL-sanctioned sponsorship arrangements.
A total revenue pool of $374 million and player payments of $71 million means the NRL players' share of the revenue cake is 19 per cent.
However, with 25 players at each of the NRL's 16 clubs, the average salary is well below the mean of Super 14's 132 fully contracted players and lower than the AFL average payment.
Ian Schubert, the NRL's salary cap boss, says the average NRL salary in 2010 will be $164,000, based on 25 players sharing $4.1 million, although the $5.5 million in sponsorship money across the NRL lifts the average to $177,750.
This is well short of the medium 2008 AFL payment of $233,000. An AFL spokesman said the 2009 figures would not be available for three weeks but salaries had increased 4 per cent on 2008, meaning the average payment to the players at the AFL's 16 clubs last year, including marketing deals, would be $240,000 to $245,000.
''Total payments to players in 2008 was $129 million and AFL revenue was $327 million, while separate club revenue would probably be $200 million,'' an AFL spokesman said, meaning players share of total revenue was 24.4 per cent.
According to the Australian Rugby Union Players Association, the average 2008 player salary for Australia's four Super 14 franchises (Brumbies, Reds, Waratahs and Western Force) was $238,738, on a par with the AFL and also well above the NRL.
Another factor is the effort involved in earning the income.
The NRL men play two more games a year than AFL players and nearly double the 13 matches played by a Super 14 player, although Wallabies play an additional 12 to 15 games a year.
The Wallabies are the highest paid elite squad of the three football codes, averaging $380,000 a year in 2008, while the average for those who play Super 14 and finish the season playing club rugby is $130,000.
But the AFL's 2008 annual report lists two players - believed to be Carlton's Chris Judd and St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt - receiving $1 million a year.
The NRL's highest-paid player would probably earn half this.
A weak NRL Players Association and a grossly underpaid broadcasting deal are the chief reasons league players echo McGrath's comments of 15 years ago. Furthermore, the NRL pitches its salary cap at the capacity to pay of its poorest club. The Sharks, with a turnover of $11 million, spend 37 per cent of income on player salaries, while the Broncos, with an income of $26 million, outlay only 15 per cent.
