Absolutely nothing burger article
of the 17m, 12.5 is player salaries, 10m of which is nrl salary which is given to them by the nrl same as every other club
The only disparity in player wages will come from clubs who don’t field teams in certain competitions (like the WNRL)
The other quoted expenses
Basic travel expenses are paid for by the nrl, anything above and beyond goes to their football cap
I can’t imagine why the panthers would be dramatically over spending over clubs on clothing and if so what tangible benefit they gain from it to help them “dominate”
the medical and premiums would largely be the same for all clubs over the long haul, some years you get lucky with injuries and surgeries and others you get banged…
I believe housing, meal + entertainment and educational allowances are also all capped and likely most if not all clubs are maxing these out
I get that Penrith want to toot their own horn and push an agenda that will benefit their club, and so they should! All clubs should, but none of those figures mean a damn thing and are almost certainly every other club are on par with them on that spending
the difference between Penrith and other clubs is the sit on top of the best rugby league junior district in the world
Huge participation numbers, a demographic that lends itself to players who are both extremely athletic and passionate
It’s not a spending thing, it’s a talent pool thing
And kudos to them for nurturing that talent, for many years they f**ked that all up and were not very good as a result
They’ve gone back to their strength, understood now they have an endless pipeline if they identify and develop from their region and are reaping the rewards now
But it’s got nothing to do with those expenses quoted in the story