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Supporting the growth of international rugby league makes sense for the NRL, and not just from a goodwill perspective but as a move with a genuine financial boon.
The NRL is currently positioned as the premier rugby league competition (excluding the representative competitions) in the world, in terms of salary cap and quality of play.
And as the NRL has etched a place for itself atop the rugby league hill, it gets to reap the benefits of being the provincial ‘top dog’.
This has been seen so far through the influx of young Super League stars, with the higher level challenge and rewards a league with a greater salary cap provides.
The NRL’s salary cap gulfs that of the Super League and is set to more than double it from next year onward, indicating this star exodus from the Super League will continue.
These expats not only raise the NRL’s standards of play, but also raise the NRL’s brand recognition in the UK.
And with rising recognition comes a greater demand for NRL games to be shown internationally and thus greater values when bargaining off TV rights. Not to mention the associated direct benefits from extended exposure such as increased merchandise purchases.
You see where I’m going with this, don’t you?
This potential recognition is only set to increase with the re-instatement of regular world cups and the increased frequency of international fixtures, leaving the NRL in a position of immense potential.
If the NRL assists the growth and foundation of domestic competitions around the world it will benefit from access to a larger number of players as well as an extended influence in non-native countries.
The stars from each region will filter to the top, benefiting the NRL with a greater standard of play and a better direct product for consumers as well as also having the inadvertent effect of attracting the attention of followers of those stars to the NRL.
The NRL has managed to hold its stars relatively successfully despite being outclassed but overseas domestic rugby union leagues. The French ‘Top 14’ league has a salary cap of nearly triple the NRL, but the pay packets of the stars of the respective leagues is remarkably similar.
The highest paid player in the French Top League, Johnny Wilkinson, is paid approximately $1.06mil AUD (according to the Daily Mail).
This is comparable to rugby league’s Jonathan Thurston sitting on a flat $1mil (according to Zero Tackle). The French Top League is the highest paid outlet for crossovers bar the elusive Japanese Top League which has heavy regulations around foreign players.
The NRL is maintaining its current load of stars and gaining more every year with a steadily rising salary cap. There are, of course a few stragglers, however the it is possible to fit even the biggest stars under the cap if given time and motivation.
If the NRL is willing to help sow the seeds it will reap the rewards of a greater talent pool and greater brand awareness.
The NRL has already come forward in leaps and bounds regionally, gaining a foothold in the Pacific Island market and has begun creating pipelines for players to reach the NRL.
However another potential boom market is Europe, which the NRL has left practically untouched (barring the Broncos brief association with London).
I realise that it isn’t the NRL’s job to foster international growth of the sport, however given the current trend of Super League talent being funnelled toward the NRL it stands to reason any assistance granted to the Super League helps the NRL.
Helping the Super League reach juniors throughout Europe indirectly helps to create access for European players to make the jump to the NRL.
Put simply the more the NRL invests into international rugby league the bigger it will become, and the more risks and greater expense the NRL is willing to afford the greater potential for reward it has.
The NRL is in a position where it can establish pipelines to connect the best juniors and players globally to the best league in the world, or it can sit in its regional seat mining away at its heartland and ignore the potential founded by the revival of the international game.
NRL, it’s your move.
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