Many have called for an overhaul of the salary cap and perhaps even a revisiting of the NRL draft, but perhaps a better way forward on both fronts is to have an IPL-style NRL player auction.
The current free agency system along with the salary cap has worked for many years. However, the good clubs have now worked out that the more money they spend off the field the more success they get on it, which means that this method no longer produces equal results.
Players want to play for the best clubs and are prepared to go there for less. This in turn makes it more difficult for the bottom clubs to sign the players needed to climb the ladder. Given the NRL is not just a sport but an entertainment business, all teams must be competitive.
Fans must be engaged in the hope that ‘this year’ will be their year.
The game is currently plagued by player signings over a year out from the move. This is not a good look, and it is not something fans of the game would like to see continue. An end-of-season draft would eliminate this issue and make a more level playing field for the lower teams.
A draft is already in place in the AFL, and it is open to a restraint of trade. Players would have less negotiation ability if they were compelled to join the North Queensland Cowboys simply because they have the first pick.
So to allow the NRL to differentiate itself from the AFL and allow players to make as much money as they can, an NRL player auction would be the better way to go.
There would be many benefits to such a system. Held at the end of the season, player movements would no longer be made during the year prior to them joining their new team.
Players could still re-sign for their existing club at any time should they choose not to enter the auction, thus player movement may be reduced, increasing club loyalty.
There would still be a salary cap, and because clubs would bid for each player, the value would then be known, making the cap more transparent.
Dodgy transactions – whether by having ‘two books’ or by other means – would no longer be an option as players have to go to the highest bidder. There would be no more under-the-table offers.
There’s also the benefit that the auction would be an exciting television event and therefore yet another revenue-raiser for the league.
I would love to hear your thoughts on an NRL player auction. Is it a good idea you would like to see brought to the competition?
no one in particular
Roar Guru
like Adam Reynolds? Josh Addo Carr? Nick Cotric? David Fafita? Tino Fa'asuamaleaui? Ben Hunt? Kalyn Ponga? Tyson Frizell? Roger Tuivasa-Sheck?
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Players definitely go to the better clubs for less money. There are heap who could make substantially more if they went to the highest bidder.
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
I don’t think it would change the have and have nots. I could see the clubs with money being more then comfortable the public knowing what they have spent. A big photo op for the star they have signed for a gazillion dollars and one of those super size cheques like the soccer guys. I could also imagine the auction being a media event.
no one in particular
Roar Guru
Players don't go to the best clubs for less. If they did we wouldn't have the current Adam Reynolds saga and the Storm would have signed multiple Origin players Greater transparency is in the works. The NRL is setting up an "offer portal", where a clubs offer to a player is logged in the system. This offer is viewable by that player, his manager, the NRL and clubs. This means the player knows what clubs are offering, not what his manager says. Clubs will know what other clubs are prepared to offer and won't be held to ransom by managers, and the NRL can better monitor the salary cap and ask questions (eg why did a player take less to go elsewhere)