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The Roar

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Transparency around player salaries – the way forward is clear

23rd July, 2017
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(NRL.com)
Expert
23rd July, 2017
67
1594 Reads

The administration of third party agreements (TPAs) is the single most critical challenge currently facing rugby league in Australia.

The uncapped nature of these payments completely undermines the concept of a salary cap and cheapens the illusion of parity that Todd Greenberg and the NRL fight so hard to protect.

The allegations of cash payments and salary cap breaches aimed at the Manly Sea Eagles, irrespective of whether they contain even a shred of truth, has forced the issue of TPAs back into the spotlight. And it’s about time that rugby league had an open and honest discussion about this issue.

Now I’m not saying that third party payments are wrong. Most transfers of value aren’t packaged in brown paper bags and handled in dimly lit carparks. In the vast majority of cases, payments made by third party sponsors are completely legal and above board. So the payments themselves aren’t the problem.

The problem lies in the inequitable access to sponsors and funding. Reports have suggested that the gulf in total TPA payments between the highest and lowest spending clubs may be as high as $1 million per season.

This means that teams like the Roosters and Broncos are taking the field with around a million bucks worth of extra talent at their disposal when compared with the likes of Newcastle and the Wests Tigers. That’s just not fair.

Alex Green Brisbane Broncos NRL Rugby League 2016

(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

My proposal is simple: provide full transparency of player salaries within the salary cap. Players would still be entitled to receive TPA payments, and these payments would not be disclosed to the public, but each NRL club would be required to disclose all payments made to players which fall within the cap.

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This concept doesn’t directly address the issue of TPAs. However, it does achieve two worthwhile objectives that target the underlying problem.

First, it would simplify the recruitment process. With existing player salaries public knowledge, clubs would have a better idea how much to offer, and players would have a better idea what they’re worth.

Think of it like the property market, where valuations are based on sales of equivalent properties in the area. You wouldn’t buy a house without having clear benchmarks as to what the property is worth, but that’s exactly what we’re asking of our players.

By fully disclosing player salaries within the salary cap, players and clubs could negotiate contractual terms based on real benchmarks, not Rothfield rumours and Webster whispers. This would limit (but not completely remove) the need for clubs to pay overs to recruit or retain certain players, which is the primary driver of salary cap misery.

Secondly, it would shed a bright public spotlight on the disparity between the haves and have nots. The knowledge of exactly how much each NRL player is making would go a long way to answering one of the game’s big questions – how can the rich clubs fit so much talent on their roster and still remain compliant?

Let me give you an example. Based on the position they play and their contribution to a team, a marquee halfback is valued at around $1 million per season. A club without the benefit of third party sponsors would be forced to count that entire amount towards their salary cap.

However, a team lucky enough to receive backing from third party sponsors could potentially pay that same player $700,000 per season, with the difference ($300,000) made up via corporate support. That saving of $300,000 could then be used to invest in other players.

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Again, I want to stress that the players and clubs involved in these scenarios are doing nothing wrong. They are playing within the guidelines given to them by the NRL, and simply doing so better than their opposition.

But if these inequalities exist within our competition, fans deserve to know about them. So let’s drop the pretence of parity, and accept that, despite the existence of a salary cap, the NRL is not a level playing field. Just like the Premier League, wealthy clubs are at a competitive advantage.

The main objection that comes up any time salary transparency is discussed is the issue of privacy. And while I understand that a player may wish to keep their rugby league earnings private, they’re being a tad precious about this issue.

Sydney Roosters NRL Rugby League 2017

(AAP Image/David Mariuz)

It could play out something like this. Each NRL club would disclose how they spend their allocated salary cap, including player salaries, and this information would be published online and would be freely accessible. Fans would have the opportunity to scrutinise just how their club is spending their money and compare this spending with rival NRL clubs.

In the US, this is already happening. All of this information is a matter of public record. Things are no different in the UK, where the Premier League has been publishing players’ weekly salaries for years. Tennis players and golfers have their prize money disclosed after every tournament, and they don’t seem to care. So why are rugby league players any different?

They’re different because we allow them to be different, and it’s time for that to change. With the NRL and the RLPA currently engaged in negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement, the game’s administration has the perfect opportunity and vehicle to push for salary transparency.

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As I mentioned earlier, the enforcement of transparency around player salaries won’t solve the issue of TPAs, but it does have the potential to highlight the magnitude of the problem. This may serve as a positive first step towards tackling one of the biggest problems facing rugby league.

5th Tackle Option
Here are five quick thoughts on the action from Round 20.

1. Was that rock bottom for Des and his Dogs? It certainly felt like it. Yet another insipid attacking display in which Canterbury played like a side devoid of ideas.

Some players were just going through the motions, which is a very troubling sign. But with Canterbury’s finals aspirations now officially over, I’m hoping Hasler opens the shoulders and lets it rip for the remainder of the season. Because if he thinks simply inserting Kieran Foran into this attacking structure will cure his point-scoring woes, he’s in for a rude shock.

Canterbury Bulldogs NRL coach, Des Hasler,

(AAP Image/Paul Miller)

2. Not sure what you need to do to get sent off these days in a game of rugby league. Iosia Soliola hit Billy Slater high and late and without the ball, forcing Slater to be taken from the field in a medicab, and yet the Canberra second rower only found himself on report.

Regardless of the exact wording of the rule book, such an offence was an obvious send-off. The Raiders deserved immediate punishment for forcing a Melbourne player from the field for the remainder of the contest due to foul play. Just not good enough.

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3. Nathan Cleary is a better player without Matt Moylan on the field. I’m not sure why, but he is. The young halfback seems to relish the responsibility of directing the Panthers around the park. Over the last fortnight, Cleary has produced two career-best performances. In each instance, Moylan has either been out injured or severely limited while on the field.

4. North Queensland is a top eight side, even without Johnathan Thurston on the field. That means Paul Green and his staff have assembled a roster that can withstand losing the best player in the world, and one who accounts for a massive proportion of their salary cap.

As a Newcastle fan, I would watch Joey succumb to injury, and I would immediately know that our season was over. That’s not the case in North Queensland.

5. As expected, the attacking juggernaut which is the St George Illawarra Dragons casually put 50 points on the hapless Sea Eagles. Wait, what?

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