Clubs ask ARL to increase funding to 130 per cent of player payments
Date
November 16, 2015 - 8:00PM
Brad Walter
Sports Reporter
NRL clubs want their annual grants increased to 130 per cent of the salary cap and changes to the constitution to give them a greater say in the make-up of the ARL Commission.
Those are the key points in a list of demands drawn up ahead of a potentially explosive meeting on Wednesday between a delegation of club bosses and the NRL's negotiating team, headed by ARL chairman John Grant.
The clubs, who are set to report financial losses of $40 million between them for the 2015 season, believe the only way they can become stronger is through an increased share of the NRL's revenue and want a greater say on how it is distributed. Only South Sydney and Brisbane recorded a profit without leagues club funding, and one Sydney club is rumoured to have suffered a $4 million deficit.
With the delegation of club chairmen, comprising Bart Campbell (Storm), Nick Politis (Roosters), Ray Dib (Bulldogs), Scott Penn (Sea Eagles) and Warriors chief executive Jim Doyle, leaving their last meeting with Grant, ARL commissioner Tony McGrath and NRL head of club services Tony Crawford three weeks ago frustrated that negotiations were going backwards, the clubs have devised a list of demands, which include:
annual grants of 130 per cent of the amount for total player payments;
a 30 per cent share of NRL profits;
a review of the ARLC constitution;
NRL licences for an indefinite period;
an independent review of the NRL's costs, and;
a say in approving the NRL's budget;
Review of the ratchet clauses that link increases in the salary cap to increases in player wages;
A vehicle to share digital rights revenue based on the model used in Major League Baseball;
$3 million offered by the NRL but with no conditions attached.
Grant recently offered each club an additional $1.5 million per season over the next two years and while most are believed to be satisfied with that deal, they want their annual grant to be set at 130 per cent of the salary cap.
Should the funding demands of the clubs be met, most expect they could at least break even and the NRL would no longer have to prop up Gold Coast and Newcastle.
If that was to occur next season, the grant would need to increase from $7 million to $8.85 million as the 2016 salary cap will rise to $6.8 million.
The $48 million offered to the clubs comes from a $50 million advance on the $925 million free-to-air television deal with Channel Nine, which is due to start in 2018.
However, the clubs are unhappy the offer from Grant is dependent on them signing new participation agreements otherwise the $1.5 million increase per season in 2016 and 2017 would need to be repaid as a loan.
If the clubs don't feel that progress is being made after Wednesday's meeting, they are expected to increase pressure on Grant and may seek to remove him as a commissioner - a task that would require a vote of 14 of the 26 ARLC members, comprised of representatives of the 16 clubs, the NSWRL, QRL and the eight commissioners.
However, the clubs have no say in the appointment of commissioners and there is a growing belief that the constitution is no longer in the best interests of the game, as it virtually eliminates anyone who has had an involvement in the NRL, such as former ARL chief executive John Quayle or Harvey Norman CEO Katie Page.
Agreed to at a time when the game was desperate to be rid of News Corp, the eligibility rules mean that the NRL is controlled by a board with little rugby league knowledge and some feel that they are out-dated.
It has even been suggested that the clubs should have a representative on the ARL Commission.
At the least, clubs want a greater say in the appointment of commissioners as the strongest bargaining chip they currently hold is the refusal to sign participation agreements to play in the NRL from 2018, although the Titans, Knights, Wests Tigers and St George Illawarra have already done so.
Campbell, who is the spokesman for the clubs, told Fairfax Media after a recent phone hook-up of club chairmen that the 16 clubs were unified in their determination to gain a better deal.
"Ultimately every club is committed and unified on the course of action we are taking from here and pleasingly we are continuing to be sensible, collegiate and remain as one in our thinking, which is good," Campbell said. "We have got a meeting on November 18 and ultimately that will either prove fruitful or fruitless, and that will dictate the action from there."
