With all the calls for the salary cap to be increased in the NRL, I have another solution. The NRL needs to allow for each club to have a marquee player. Two of them, while we’re on the subject.
Right now there is a “marquee” player allowance of $300,000, the NRL needs to bite the bullet and allocate some of its future fund toward the game’s elite, taking the pressure off the clubs and placating some of the players currently (and rightly) calling for an increase in player wages.
Each club could nominate two franchise players, who would be rated by the ARLC and given a value. That value would be redeemed by the NRL.
Part of that extra income from the game’s administration would be earned through greater promotion by franchise players, especially with regard to junior football and the game’s outer reaches, such as the south island of New Zealand, Perth, Adelaide and Victoria.
How this might affect possible transfers is unclear (not that they often occur with the game’s elite players).
The NRL could demand a no-trade clause in franchise players’ contracts, or maybe there wouldn’t need to be any restrictions on mid-contract player movement.
The great irony of all this is that this has been tried before, for different reasons and in a profoundly different context. The ARL “loyalty” contracts foisted on players in reaction to the 1995 News Ltd raid on rugby league. This time round, the game’s stability and administration has never been more united thanks to the formation of the ARLC.
Most major sports leagues around the world don’t have to resort to signing their players directly, but the NRL is in a unique position. Rugby league in Australia is positively surrounded by rival codes to which its players can flee, yet without any chance of poaching players from those other codes in response.
We cannot leave it up to clubs that are already struggling financially and asking for annually larger NRL grants. With a $1 billion rights deal and the promise of even more cashola down the road, the NRL Franchise Player must come into existence.
I’ll even throw Eels fans a bone and select Jarryd Hayne to be that club’s first.
mushi
Roar Guru
You said initially they redirect sponsorship money that is against the rules and such a completely different situation to the one you've just painted here
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Mushi, There is no cap fraud. The beauty of the system is Brisbane dont need to do a thing. As a one-team city, players and agents know these deals will be available. As a one-team city, sponsors know if they want to be connected to the team, they can either go down the path of sponsoring the team directly, or offering individual star players top-up payments. If a star player signs with, say, Easts, then they are competing in the Sydney market with a number of other star players for media attention, and therefore top=up deal value. If they sign with Brisbane, then this level of competition doesnt exist. Therefore, for expected earnings can stay the same with a lower cap number, because of the reasonable expectation of off-cap third party deals. And the beauty of the system is they really can be third-party, and Brisbane really doesnt need to know the details. But everyone knows the deal.
mushi
Roar Guru
Not really Ian – what you are describing is cap fraud. The club itself is not allowed to source the unrelated third party agreement (as it stops being unrelated) and it is not allowed to be an inducement to sign for that particular club (again stops being unrelated). Here you are basically accusing the broncos of systematic fraud, without proof it’s just a tin foil hat conspiracy theory. There is certainly the scope for someone to pay for the player and pick up faux sponsorship through their association at a lower cost, and this is going to be more valuable in some places more than others, but if the NRL started regulating that then you’d see the cap destroyed I think within a few minutes. So in the pursuit of altruism you would be cutting off your nose and destroying the entire system. As for the juniors – yep well aware of the junior aspect I’ve written ad nausem on juniors being the biggest asset under the restrictions of a salary cap. There are also other considerations, such as the geographic monopoly the Broncos have, that just simply get glossed over by most pundits.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
Not quite as great an idea as people think, as it allows rich clubs to redirect sponsorship income to become a third-party deal, while a club that is scraping together dollars may need that sponsorship money to pay "on cap" salaries. This is one of the rules Brisbane Broncos use, by the way - the other one is the fact that their juniors are "off cap" but still on contract, meaning they can be tied to the club but only elevated to the senior list to cover from injuries and so on.
mushi
Roar Guru
This is a great idea. In fact the idea is so god damn good it has been a part of the NRL cap rules as long as I can remember . From the NRL salary cap FAQ: “Income that a player earns from parties not related to his club is generally not included in the Salary Cap, however, the details of the agreement must be advised to the club by the player. The club must then get approval for the agreement from the Salary Cap Auditor in order for the remuneration to be excluded.” Great to see people getting on board with the cap rules.
Iketchell
Roar Rookie
The NRL should consider the use of an "unlimited" third party agreement for marquee or franchise players. Where any player can earn as little or as much from a third party agreement with a sponsor, business or group not associtated with the NRL or the clubs and tax 10c for ever dollar over say $100,000 or whatever they see fit..
Haz
Guest
But part of the point is to have money from the ARLC pay for players to promote the game, rather than to play. The problem is that the ARLC might well prefer someone like Nathan Hindmarsh--someone who gave 110% every game--to be the face of the game (remember the billboard on the M4?) than Hayne--someone who, well... doesn't.
Champ
Guest
Whats the point of being franchise players down to victoria? We won't even know who they are...
turbodewd
Guest
Jarryd Hayne is the worst defensive fullback in the NRL considering his salary.
Cameron
Roar Guru
Jarryd Hayne can barely lace a pair of boots that look the same each week let alone perform at a consistent level. I don't believe 2 players are necessary. I don't even believe a marquee is required these players already earn enough and with salary cap increase on the horizon there won't be a need as Greg inglis, JT, Billy Slater could become million dollar men. A marquee man needs to to have the sort of influence on-field as they do off-field. These players can barely deal with media scrutiny and player access for the media is hardly even seen. Players need to become more susceptible to the media and be available more often.