Should the NRL Raise The Salary Cap?

[FUIFUI_MOIMOI]

The number of quality players we are losing each year is increasing. Players are looking to secure their futures by signing contracts with English clubs who are offering big amounts of $$$ . I personally believe the NRL should raise the cap so we dont continue to lose quality players who were developed here.

Here is an article written by Peter Williams regarding the issue:

THE New Zealand Warriors management says the NRL may have to look at raising the salary cap after the club lost another player to the English Super League.

Front-rower Iafeta Paleaaesina has signed a "lucrative" three-year contract with Super League side Wigan.


The Warriors said they couldn't match the undisclosed sum.

Paleaaesina, 23, joins veteran Warriors halfback Stacey Jones in leaving the Auckland-based club at the end of the season for the Super League.

Jones announced earlier in the year he had signed with French club UTC.

Warriors chief executive Mick Watson said the British league was targeting younger, developing players who hadn't played representative football, and were paying accordingly.

"There's a huge value gap," Watson said.

"No NRL club would have been able to keep a 'Feca' (Paleaaesina).

"Maybe in the long term we do need to look at some salary cap lift, you know, some aid there.

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"I've got great confidence (NRL chief executive) David Gallop will make the right decision."


Watson said Wigan had probably paid above market price for Paleaaesina, but had done so for a purpose and such buying would continue to happen in isolation.

The powerful 1.83m, 110kg Paleaaesina, nicknamed Mr Effective, debuted in 2001 and has played 74 NRL games, 50 from the bench.

"The contract I saw in front of me was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I couldn't say no to it," Paleaaesina said.

"It's a big opportunity. Maybe I can get more game time over there."

Paleaaesina has moved on and off the interchange bench this season after the Warriors brought in experienced forwards Steve Price and Ruben Wiki.

Paleaaesina said he still hoped to play for the New Zealand national team but thought there was a long list of others ahead of him.

Warriors coach Tony Kemp was sorry to see Paleaaesina go.

"He has the potential to become of the great front-rowers in New Zealand," Kemp said. "I don't think Feca made this decision because he wasn't starting front-rower. I think personally he's made a decision about looking after his future."

Whats your thoughts regarding the issue?

 

[League Freak™]

Its always time to raise the cap when "We" are losing a player we want to keep.

The cap has been raised in recent season and it should not be raised any more.


The Warriors need to realise that by raising the cap they will lose out on getting players the likes of Price, Wiki and Fein in the future.

 

[Tidus_Raider]

Depends on the TV Rights. If all clubs could afford it i say raise it.

 

[League Freak™]

Depends on the TV Rights. If all clubs could afford it i say raise it.

Newcastle cant afford to run their club at full capacity as it is under the current salary cap.

 

[bartman]

No, I don't think we should raise the cap just because players are leaving to play the game in Engalnd. Then we'll be trapped into raising it everytiome the dollar sinks against the pound in the money markets in the future.

If we want a worldwide developing game to match the atrraction of Union and its world cup, we have to accept losing some of the best players to play around the world in other territories helps work toward those goals for the game.

It's unfair and outdated to expect to keep all of the best players in the world (regardless of nationality) in the one regular weekly competition, or in a dream team playing for our individual club. Leave them to all come together and against each other in international games, so that they are raised to the status they should hold and earn the publicity that our game deserves.

The key quote is "no NRL club cowould have been able to keep [him]", meaning it effects clubs in the same way. So why any need to change and raise the cost of running a league side and risk instability, when some of the existing clubs in NRLthe money don't have the present levels of money needed to compete?

 

[Dirk Titan]

W e can't raise the cap. But somthing needs to change.

Maybe pay the players anything you want no limit, but limit each club to the number of players they can have in their squad. Say 25 each.

Sure the more wealthy clubs will have good squads, but look at Parra,still lost the grand final Roosters as well. To teams that won't filled with super stars at the time.

Just a thought anyway!

 

[Johns Magic]

W e can't raise the cap. But somthing needs to change.

Maybe pay the players anything you want no lomit, but limit each club to the number of players they can have in their squad. Say 25 each.

What the...

 

[Dirk Titan]

Or the top 17 players in you side no limit, then cap the rest.

There are always good young players coming through, the wealthy teams can't buy them all.

 

[Johns Magic]

That makes no sense

 

[Raider_69]

No, not at least untill the new TV deal is done, and when it is, i say introduce a 150k extra that can be spread over 3 marqee players at the clubs will in order to keep these players

 

[yankeeboy]

No matter what the salary cap is, the idiots who run the Knights will still drive the club into the ground.

I'd like to see a cap of $4 mil AUD for the 25 highest-payed players at the club, with $500k for the rest. If a player is ruled out for the season, a club should be able to take his salary off of the cap, and apply it to a replacement player. This would stop the problems that the Dragons have had in the past, having so many injuries and then not having space under the $300k "secondary cap" to debut new players to replace the injured ones.

I would like to see a cap that is applied to new signings. After a set period of time, if a player has re-signed with the same club, his salary would no longer be applied to the cap. This would stop rich clubs from "buying" a club, and would allow all clubs to retain their top players without needing to worry about the salary cap.

 

[Twizzle]

the cap need to be CPI indexed to keep up with inflation, albeit very slow atm

its just cannot remain stagnant, which is evidenced by the amount of players leaving the country

 

[Mr Saab]

Or the top 17 players in you side no limit, then cap the rest.

There are always good young players coming through, the wealthy teams can't buy them all.

dont cap the tp 17? hmmmmmmmmm
Why have a cap!!!!!!!!!!!!
Take a tip, dont ever become an accountant

 

[Beaches Boy]

The Salary cap will be increased with the the FTA TV deal. You will find that the entire cap will be funded to each club in full from the NRL.

 

[Eskimo Sharkie]

Aren't the ESL clubs on a quota next season for the number of foreign players allowed in their squads? If so, I can't see what the problem is. It's not like they are going to be able to buy up every decent player in Australia. Perhaps they have to offer them so much money because England is a freezing cold and miserable place to live? There would have to be some compensation for swapping the beaches of Bondi for Blackpool or Bognor Regis.

 

[bazza]

Aren't the ESL clubs on a quota next season for the number of foreign players allowed in their squads? If so, I can't see what the problem is. It's not like they are going to be able to buy up every decent player in Australia. Perhaps they have to offer them so much money because England is a freezing cold and miserable place to live? There would have to be some compensation for swapping the beaches of Bondi for Blackpool or Bognor Regis.

My guess is that Iafeta Paleaaesina is able to get a Tongan or Samoan passport and as such isn't classified as an Australian or NZ player in the quota.

On the salary cap - it should only increase if the amount of money coming into the NRL and clubs increases. I think it has increased marginally over the next few years. A big increase would only come with a large increase in the TV deal.

 

[bartman]

The quota thing isn't really as tight as one would think.

A legal precent called the Kolpak ruling means something like sportspeople from countries with trade agreements with Britain similar that shared by European nations cannot be exlcuded from teams by quota. So most players with Pacific Islander background are free to be signed up, as are any players that can claim a European grandparent and hence passport.

Also London and the Catalans team have exemptions from the quota as expansion teams, allowing them to sign more (up to eight?) "foreign players" (not counting those eligible under Kolpak) than other clubs.

And the money on offer is quite atrractive when you consider the exchange rate, and except for the higher cost of living in London probably makes good investment sense for a year or two in a line of work where you time at the top level is limited.

 

[Tidus_Raider]

Newcastle cant afford to run their club at full capacity as it is under the current salary cap.

The problem with Newcastle is 2 players eat up almost 30% of their salary cap and they hardly ever play.

They also have a few off field issues (ie no leagues club support etc)

 

[Baron Vo Mandor]

To me its pretty simple when the new FTA agreement kicks in and the NRL grants increased funding to the clubs then increase the salary cap by that much for each club....

That way clubs dont have to reach into there own pockets at all and they have X amount of $ extra to spend without going into their own funds....

 

[JK]

The cap should at least rise with inflation each year. Leaving it stagnate for a few years at a time is silly.

But no huges rises to match UK payments!

On another note you would think they could get someone with greater talent? No offence to Iafeta but seriously...they are paying $500,000 a season!