The NRL has drawn up $3m plan to keep star players in rugby league

[El Diablo]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,27084115-23209,00.html

The NRL has drawn up $3m plan to keep star players in rugby league

By Dean Ritchie
May 06, 2010

The NRL has drawn up a $3 million rescue package to stop league's biggest stars swapping footy codes in search of bigger pay packets.

The NRL will look at increasing the grant to each club by $100,000, lift the salary cap by $50,000 through either cash or concessions and increase representative match payments.

These bonuses, which would come into effect by June 30 this year, come as Israel Folau looks set to join the Melbourne Rebels Super rugby franchise and

Johnathan Thurston considers a rich European rugby union deal.

NRL chief executives were this week asked to compile detailed submissions on improving the salary cap through the collective bargaining agreement.

The annual grant to clubs is $3.35 million, the salary cap is $4.1 million. Clubs desperately want to bridge that gap but that may not occur until the new TV broadcasting deal is struck in 2012.

The representative match payments will be discussed through the negotiations next month.

A possible salary cap increase will be reviewed after chief executives submit reports by May 21.

"Closing the gap between the cap and the grant is important for the game," NRL chief executive David Gallop said.

"Part of the salary cap review will be to determine whether the cap should be increased directly or by way of an extension of current concessions.

"Clubs are very focused on closing the gap."

Asked would the extra money help to keep players such as Thurston in rugby league, Gallop said: "Increasing the cap may not necessarily stop players being offered big contracts. But we are conscious of doing what we can.

"We don't have a magic money tree and we have to keep clubs financially secure.

"And clearly we need to lift rep payments if we can afford too as well."

 

[stormbati]

I think concessions will work a lot better than an increase. Some clubs can't afford 4.1 as it is now.

 

[bartman]

Let the greedy f**kers change codes, and just get on with it.

No-one misses SBW. Noone misses Gasnier. Noone missed Lote, Wendell, Rogers, and the other ones when they were missing.

Why pander to blokes like Thurston and Folau who will just never be happy no matter how much more money league pours into their pockets.

 

[stormbati]

I do agree they do get abit ungrateful. But I would rather our game in a position to keep them.

 

[m0nty]

Ooh, fifty grand, that'll help. Demetriou lets fifty grand fall out of his pocket on the way to Spearmint Rhino.

 

[fourplay]

Let the greedy f**kers change codes, and just get on with it.

No-one misses SBW. Noone misses Gasnier. Noone missed Lote, Wendell, Rogers, and the other ones when they were missing.

Why pander to blokes like Thurston and Folau who will just never be happy no matter how much more money league pours into their pockets.

So SBW goes, then Gasnier, then Hunt, then Folau, probably Thurston, and then Hayne goes too.

Will you still be saying let them go and let's get on with it? They are the stars of the game and why people watch rugby league.

I miss SBW. Bulldogs games were twice as enjoyable with him playing.

It was more exciting seeing SBW take the ball up, attract 3 defenders and somehow throw a miracle flick pass to set up a try than it is to watch Andrew Ryan or Gary Warburton(no disrespect to him) plod the ball up. Sonny Bill's shoulder or Blake Green's shoulder?

It's more exciting seeing Folau on the wing leaping over Anthony Quinn for bombs than watching Steve Michaels leap for a bomb.

How about Karmichael Hunt returning the ball from fullback in origin or do people prefer watching Josh Hoffman return the ball?

Will people watch as many Cowboys games as they do now with the same level of interest if Grant Rovelli is the halfback instead of Thurston?

 

[zombie jesus]

It's a start I suppose.

 

[1 Eyed TEZZA]

Agree, the players are replaced, but not necessarily replaced with someone of the same quality. Craig Gower for example, Penrith havent developed a replacement thats of equal quality to Gower, and thats saying something.

Yes we will recover from the loss of Thurston, or a SBW, or a Gasnier. But no one can tell me that the competition wouldnt be better if we still had SBW, Gasnier, Rooney, Gower, Hunt and all the players in the SL. And if we do lose Thurston and Folau, will RL survive? yes, but would it be better off with them? hell yes.

 

[Raiders_Premiers]

So SBW goes, then Gasnier, then Hunt, then Folau, probably Thurston, and then Hayne goes too.

Will you still be saying let them go and let's get on with it? They are the stars of the game and why people watch rugby league.

I miss SBW. Bulldogs games were twice as enjoyable with him playing.

It was more exciting seeing SBW take the ball up, attract 3 defenders and somehow throw a miracle flick pass to set up a try than it is to watch Andrew Ryan or Gary Warburton(no disrespect to him) plod the ball up. Sonny Bill's shoulder or Blake Green's shoulder?

It's more exciting seeing Folau on the wing leaping over Anthony Quinn for bombs than watching Steve Michaels leap for a bomb.

How about Karmichael Hunt returning the ball from fullback in origin or do people prefer watching Josh Hoffman return the ball?

Will people watch as many Cowboys games as they do now with the same level of interest if Grant Rovelli is the halfback instead of Thurston?

Excellent post. People keep going on about not missing players like SBW, Gasnier etc that's absolute bull. Personally, I used to watch Bulldogs games solely to watch SBW. I watch Tigers games for Benji Marshall, and Storm games for Billy Slater/Greg Inglis.

If I do this, I am sure that many others do it as well. Losing stars damages the league greatly, and it will no doubt drive fans away from the game.

 

[Jaeger's Ghost]

All this talk about "quality" is rubbish. If you are a supporter you go to the games and follow your club on TV regardless. The commentators talk about the the need for "quality" because they have a vested interest. They want "quality" (ie stars) to attract the corporates (previously all union) and the uncommitted's (who were cheering the swans back in the 90's). All this mob bring inflated ticket prices, the inability to get a seat at a match, and money. And we know where money takes our game, and we now know what the ultimate outcome is - just follow the Hume Highway to its end to see a future where money rules the game.

Anybody think League will die without the money? That 9/7/10/Foxtel won't still be lining up to broadcast the games? Maybe they'll cut the hoopla and the hangers on - we might not get 4 "quality" thinkers like Gordy, Whiz, Junior and the work experience guy to tell us all about what we've just seen - but I can live without that quite happily.

 

[Brutus]

We need a whole new salary cap system, with greater concessions.

Simply raising it by 50k is useless.

 

[Brutus]

So SBW goes, then Gasnier, then Hunt, then Folau, probably Thurston, and then Hayne goes too.

Will you still be saying let them go and let's get on with it? They are the stars of the game and why people watch rugby league.

I miss SBW. Bulldogs games were twice as enjoyable with him playing.

It was more exciting seeing SBW take the ball up, attract 3 defenders and somehow throw a miracle flick pass to set up a try than it is to watch Andrew Ryan or Gary Warburton(no disrespect to him) plod the ball up. Sonny Bill's shoulder or Blake Green's shoulder?

It's more exciting seeing Folau on the wing leaping over Anthony Quinn for bombs than watching Steve Michaels leap for a bomb.

How about Karmichael Hunt returning the ball from fullback in origin or do people prefer watching Josh Hoffman return the ball?

Will people watch as many Cowboys games as they do now with the same level of interest if Grant Rovelli is the halfback instead of Thurston?

 

[stormbati]

If Gas was still at the Dragons, SBW at the Dogs etc etc the NRL would be alot better imo

 

[Brutus]

When a few injuries set in the depth in clubs looks thin.

 

[petetheileet]

Gee the NRL have some real balls dont they...

fall to threats like that...

let them go!

 

[Paullyboy]

I think concessions will work a lot better than an increase. Some clubs can't afford 4.1 as it is now.

Exactly. Whilst this is better than nothing, the only way we are going to get a positive result moving forward is to revamp the concessions system for clubs with long-serving players (or juniors who have come through the system).

Giving them another 50,000 won't stop anyone defecting if money is the driving force.

 

[Ulysseus]

If Gas was still at the Dragons......

There's the problem right there.
Gaz commanded so much of the available cap that it was becoming increasingly problematic in fielding a side of quality around him, he is sighted as one of the reasons Morris #2 is now a Bulldog, not the definitive reason, but a f**king big one.
Having seen how he acted when he couldn't get JUST SOME of his massive salary, it seems likely that he would want any future increases to the cap had he been there.
I fail to see how that would have improved Saints situation.
Make no mistake, without Gasnier's salary hanging like a rock from their necks they signed Smith, Costigan etc etc and could afford to keep a few more and pay a few less a bit better.
I'll make a bold statement and say if Gasnier had stayed, Saints would be middle of the table also rans this year and last, not that the year is over yet (they may still finish the year middle of the table also rans) but injuries, rep commitments, luck and form permitting they will not, a situation I could hardly see transpiring with the $10,000 a week prima dona handling the ball 6 times a game and being overpaid for doing so.

 

[Paullyboy]

Excellent point by Ulysseus

 

[Rockin Ronny]

The fact is - it is the stars that bring crowds which then brings sponsors, TV stations etc to the game.

Rugby league has a number of genuine crowd pleasers who could easily translate into stars in other codes. Worse, there will be a culture created where you play league for a few years, make a name then pop off to rugby to play true internationals and make a fortune.

The fraud is that there is ALREADY a big money pot - but we donlt know wher it all goes. Big payments to useless executives (NRL, CRL, clubs etc) and a big chunk to News Limited - whose focus is to keep all costs down regardless of damage to the game.

Get rid of News - then get competent financial people involved, control player managers' greed - then the stars will stay and the game will grow stronger.

 

[applesauce]

The NRL would of been better off giving the 18 QLD and 18 NSW players 25k a game (75k possibly made a year). At a cost of 1.35million a year.

Then giving 30k to the Australian players a game (if 5 games are played a year 150k made a player). At a cost of 2.7million

Told cost 3.05million a year. (Doesn't take into account the money already being paid to the rep sides, so the overall cost would be lower.)

The likes of Izzy and Thurston could earn an bonus of 225k a year, that would keep them in the game and stop Gallops sh*t about being unfair to clubs because it would be over their heads and have nothing to do with the cap.