NRL battlers have been left stunned by Brisbane chief Bruno Cullen’s declaration the Broncos have more than 20 third party deals with players.
As eyebrows continued to be raised over superstar Greg Inglis’s move from Melbourne to Brisbane, struggling clubs said they could only dream about that level of corporate support, although they are reluctant to label the NRL landscape uneven.
Cullen said the Broncos had around 20 deals ranging from $1,000 to over $25,000.
“It’s probably the easiest way to do it rather than annoy your sponsors for more money,” he told Sky Sports Radio on Wednesday.
“If the (player) manager comes to us and says player X is looking for a little bit more and is happy to do some promotional work … we could certainly provide a list of `why don’t you contact these people’.
“Alternatively, and this is where the majority come from, we actually get these people contact us and say `we want to be involved and we want to help one of the players, who do you suggest?’”
Western Sydney battlers Penrith recently took the step in their matchday newsletter of calling for local businesses to come forward and sponsor players as they tried to stitch up deals for Michael Jennings, since completed, and Frank Pritchard.
“I’d love to have a list like that, I might ask him if there’s any left over,” Panthers chief executive Mick Leary told AAP on Wednesday.
“We’re in the outer west and it’s been very difficult to get third party agreements but we’re doing our best.
“It’s a reminder that we’ve all got to get out and work harder.”
Canberra have just one third party arrangement and Raiders boss Don Furner said operating in a government sector town made it difficult.
“I wish I had that is all I can say,” he told AAP.
“Without a doubt they’ve got a lot of advantages.
“But you’ve got to look at both sides of it – why should they be held back?”
Third party money from sources other than club sponsors is unlimited in the NRL, while sponsors will be able to pay $300,000 through the marquee player allowance in 2011.
NRL boss David Gallop said there were over $3 million in third party deals across the league.
“Having 20 would not be unusual,” he said.
“We can’t guarantee 16 green bottles on the wall that look exactly the same.
“It’s one of the reasons that we’ve got a salary cap in the first place and it’s there to distribute talent as evenly as we can.
“Every club’s got pluses and minuses in terms of attracting players.”
Gallop rejected calls for players’ salaries to be made public to head off questions about how clubs could afford their players.
“Like in most workplaces in the country, people are entitled to their salary being confidential,” he said.
Late on Wednesday, Cullen blasted those calling for Brisbane’s salary cap spending to be heavily scrutinised.
He said observers had not taken into account the movement of $1 million worth of players away from the club and changes to the cap in 2011, pointing out the club had recruited only Inglis and Ben Hannant.
The likes of Israel Folau (AFL), Ashton Sims and Antonio Winterstein (both North Queensland) will depart at the end of this season.
“We still have some change left over,” he said.
“Broncos sponsors, fans and corporate supporters should be extremely confident that the club has followed the rules to the letter of the law.”
Jeff
Guest
Hey Cool. I am not really sure re: transfer fees , but clubs should be financially rewarded for their efforts and money/time spent bringing a young bloke to the standard that other clubs want him, albeit direct transfer or points that allow them increased salary cap for the next two years. I believe that something must be done to help clubs keep their younger players. unfortunately, I don't have the 100% answer
Mr Cool
Guest
Hi Jeff, you make a good point about continuity, I would not like to support Storm for another 11 years and see the kids/players disbanded like they have just been. I recognise that Storm's management 'sinned' but, this debacle must never be allowed to happen again, If the salary cap is not big enough to allow a team to keep its players then the salary cap be adjusted further or scrapped completely. Are you suggesting some kind of transfer fee when players are traded?.
Danni
Guest
Greg has transferred to Brisbane mostly to be with his partner Just as Israel went to be closer to his family. . . it is nothing to do with a desire to play for Brisbane.
Jeff
Guest
Doesn't this comment by Cullen confirm what most people are saying, there are too many teams in NSW and thery are all fighting each other for sponsorship monies. Storm (When the return to legal) will once again have almost a full State to get sponsors from, Warriors , Cowboys, Broncos, Gold Coast (To a lesser extent) and Perth (if they admitted) will all have more options open to them than the eight NSW teams. If outside payments are to become a major part of a players earnings, the teams with access to sponsors will always attract better players, However, there is a limit to the numbers on each clubs playing list and if the 'better' players found themselves playing 3/4 of the season in the reserves, they would soon want to move clubs. If rules where put in place to stop teams just 'buying' teams, -- ie: limit the number of players coming into the club, to match the numbers leaving (must be on similar pay: eg: Falou leaves -- Inglis replaces him.) then each club could have the opportunity to 'build a team' and get some continuity. As a Storm supporter, I would love to see the likes of Widdop, Duffie, Kelly, Rochow, etc, playing for the 1sts with the knowledge that they could stay long term.
bilbo
Guest
Would be nice if the people who are throwing stones at the Broncos over Inglis would actually get an understanding of the salary cap - there is no limit to what a player can earn outside the cap, provided the earnings are for services rendered and are not provided by a club sponsor. The Broncos run a strong operation and are a one team town - this gives them significant advantage over other teams. If the cap was to encompass all earnings and had to be the same for each club, what would be the reward for trying to build the club commercially - there would be sixteen Cronullas. Not to mention that the majority of the players know that they have a better chance of winning a premiership - other clubs like the Cowboys, Sharks and Raiders need to pay overs to attract players. Inglis has taken a pay cut - because he wants to be a part of a successful team - which is the reason people play sport, dont forget.
oikee
Guest
The Storm lost a few sponsers this year. The Broncos are a huge brand in QLD. Every man and his dog wants to be part of this club. Its up to the storm to tap a even bigger market to the club. Cheating does not help. The Storm are already a well known brand, you need a marketer now to tap into this success. If other clubs can turn around a bad year,(dogs, roosters) into a good year the next, so can the storm.
Billy Boy
Guest
the Broncos obviously have far better accountants than the Storm
Mr Cool
Guest
Nice to see Gallop say 'something'.. even though it seems that what he is saying is totally against the principle of having a salary cap. I do believe that players should have the option of earning money from outside the game and I also think that in these times the low salary cap is causing people to 'tread a fine line' (CHEAT). to keep their players at the club. At the end of this season the cap should be fully reviewed and changed to favour the clubs that have brought their playing list through the clubs system. Poaching best players from other clubs without that club getting any benefit is WRONG!.
ptovey01
Roar Pro
I heard david Gallop on a program a week or so ago talking about 3rd party deals and how they don't come under thesalary cap. He also said that the clubs can't realistically tell a sponsor not to sponsor and just pay player X. It sounds like Bruno may be running a very fine line.