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NRL to lift lid on salary cap deals
NOVEMBER 14, 2018
The NRL wants to lift the curtain on third-party agreements and bring an end to back-ended deals as it looks to provide more transparency and integrity to the salary cap.
The Australian understands the clubs were notified at a meeting in Sydney yesterday that the governing body was ready to publish each club’s third-party deals, figures which have previously been kept in house.
The ongoing suggestion has been that the likes of Brisbane, Melbourne and the Sydney Roosters have been able to strengthen their sides because they enjoy significant advantages when it comes to third-party deals — agreements reached with private sponsors at arm’s length to the club.
The NRL wants to remove the veil of secrecy around the deals, thereby creating greater transparency around player payments.
It is understood the figures will be shared with chairs and chief executives at a meeting next month before being made available to the wider public.
While payments to individual players will remain secret, club totals will be revealed. Third-party agreements have been a bugbear for some clubs, which believe it creates a chasm in payments to players and perpetuates a lopsided competition.
The decision to go public with third-party payments comes as the NRL takes steps to stop back-ended deals.
The deals — in which player payments increase significantly over the term of a contract — have been used by some coaches and clubs to retain players but invariably lead to cap problems, most notably at Canterbury.
The Bulldogs have revealed it could be another year or two before they are able to find some clear space with the cap due to a series of back-ended deals struck by the previous administration.
NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg yesterday confirmed the game would bring in rules preventing contracts escalating by significant amounts over the life of the deal. It is understood they discussed with chief executives yesterday the prospect of contracts increasing by more than $100,000 or 20 per cent on a yearly basis, bar extenuating circumstances.
“Generally speaking the salary cap management is an issue for the clubs to deal with,” said Canterbury chief executive Andrew Hill, who has been charged with cleaning up the cap mess at the Bulldogs.
“However, I think it is fair to say that the league could play a greater role in certain criteria and I think this move is a positive one.
“There just needs to at least be understandings that from time to time there will be an unusual circumstance that there needs to be a mechanism to accommodate.
“That has to be the exception rather than the rule.”
Penrith chief executive Brian Fletcher added: “Back-ended deals are the only thing that will get you into trouble long-term.
“If you manage your cap right, there’s never a problem. When Penrith got into trouble, when Phil Gould came to the rescue, our biggest problem was back-ended deals.”
