Australian Rugby League chairman John Chalk has extended an olive branch to disgruntled NRL clubs conceding their demands for extra funding are “affordable and sustainable”.
It wasn’t immediately clear however if Chalk’s comments referred to an up front payment clubs are seeking in 2012 as well as their demands for a TV rights bonus payment adding up to $36 million.
Some of the 16 NRL clubs have reportedly threatened not to sign club agreements to play in the 2012 competition without assurances of extra funding.
They’re seeking an extra $8 million dollars ($500,000 per club) paid in quarterly instalments next year and also want a $1.6 million advance payment on the next broadcast rights TV deal which will be thrashed out next year.
The partnership committee of News Limited and the NRL which controls the financial arm of the game, met last week and rejected plunging the game into debt by taking out an $8 million loan.
Their view was they weren’t prepared to put the game into debt to get some clubs out of debt which didn’t sit well with some club bosses.
Chalk said on Monday before an ARL board meeting in Sydney to discuss the hot topic that in his personal view the NRL clubs’ funding request represented an affordable and sustainable increase for the 2012 season.
“Contrary to reports, the ARL has not taken a position to oppose NRL club requests for additional funding for the 2012 season,” Chalk said in a statement.
“I have called for an urgent meeting of the ARL (board) tomorrow (Tuesday) to discuss the issue and for a position.”
The cash-strapped clubs have adopted a hard line approach saying they either get a $500,000 payment or they won’t be signing any agreements for 2012.
There are fears however the stand-off could seriously harm the incoming independent commission’s ability to get on with the job and also make administrators look amateurish in their dealings.
A couple of NRL clubs already on the financial brink say they can’t hang on until a new TV deal is stitched up and need the funding now to survive.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
If you’re Adam O’Brien, you’re probably not used to being spoiled for choice. The Knights coach has often had a pretty obvious first choice…
Rugby league needs a rethink on the time-honoured notion of players “soldiering on in the field of battle” while injured. It’s a philosophy which…
Queensland fullback Tamika Upton swept all before her in 2023, a year in which she announced herself as the best player in the women'…
Melbourne will fight the dangerous contact charge against their skipper Harry Grant, with the club seeking clarity from the NRL over his contentious sin-binning…
The NRL is investigating an allegation that Indigenous stars Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker were racially abused during South Sydney's loss to St George…
It rained a lot. People got injured. Important people, the ones who play for NSW, tore hamstrings. Less important people - Starford To'a, for…
