The Inner Salary Cap

[40 nil]

As I understand it, the salary cap was introduced to keep clubs financial (preventing overspending) and also to keep the playing field even. However, I don't think this can ever work smoothly when there is no maximum salary for players within the cap. When there is a salary cap of $ 9.6 million for 30 players, it is bizarre (IMO) that so much of the cap can be used up by a couple of players earning a million plus each.

I think the salary cap should have tiers of salary ranging from perhaps, $800,000 down. Each club could be allowed a certain number of players at the top salary rate, then a certain number at 700,000 and so on. However, individuals could receive also top ups to their salaries without affecting the team salary cap when they are selected for representative games or have played many seasons (ten?) in the top grade with one club. There would be different scales of rep team selection - SOO, first tier internationals, second tier internationals, Prime Minister's teams etc. The top up amount would increase when more rep games have been played, e.g. 1-5 games $100,000; 6-10 games $200,000 and so on. This could be fine tuned in different ways and also individual salary + top ups could be capped (maybe $1.3 million).

This system wouldn't be flawless, but I think limiting maximum salaries could make the team salary cap more manageable. If players are lured to Union or ESL for more money, so be it ...

 

[robbiea]

All the best players would be gone then ,creating a sub par League.
But you are right,something needs to be done about this lop sided corrupt train wreck we call the NRL.
But unfortunately the main reason the NRL sucks ,just got another two years added to his contract (Vlandy's you are a ignorant blind f#ckwit.)

 

[Woodsie]

As I understand it, the salary cap was introduced to keep clubs financial (preventing overspending) and also to keep the playing field even. However, I don't think this can ever work smoothly when there is no maximum salary for players within the cap. When there is a salary cap of $ 9.6 million for 30 players, it is bizarre (IMO) that so much of the cap can be used up by a couple of players earning a million plus each.

I think the salary cap should have tiers of salary ranging from perhaps, $800,000 down. Each club could be allowed a certain number of players at the top salary rate, then a certain number at 700,000 and so on. However, individuals could receive also top ups to their salaries without affecting the team salary cap when they are selected for representative games or have played many seasons (ten?) in the top grade with one club. There would be different scales of rep team selection - SOO, first tier internationals, second tier internationals, Prime Minister's teams etc. The top up amount would increase when more rep games have been played, e.g. 1-5 games $100,000; 6-10 games $200,000 and so on. This could be fine tuned in different ways and also individual salary + top ups could be capped (maybe $1.3 million).

This system wouldn't be flawless, but I think limiting maximum salaries could make the team salary cap more manageable. If players are lured to Union or ESL for more money, so be it ...

Your problem is not the principle .... but the laws of restraint of trade .... to limit somebodies earning capacity is a very serious legal issue ..... I am certain that within days of any such rule being introduced .... 20 players would launch legal action ..... the whole system would come under major scrutiny .....

 

[The Who]

Something needs to be done. I'm not sure about the proposed 'points system' as that would lead to arguments (ie. Jamie Lyon declined to play rep football even though he would have been one of the first selected).
The idea that I'd like to see explored is the one of a 'wealth tax' (or whatever it is called in US baseball) where clubs can spend over a cap but that additional money is then shared with the other clubs....

 

[Shoe1]

The current system would work ok if the nrl was consistent on medical retirements and third parties.

 

[The Who]

I just read this: Wow. That's how to deal with clubs cheating the salary cap...
English and European rugby champions Saracens will be relegated at the end of the season for breaching the salary cap rules, marking the downfall of what was the Northern Hemisphere's top club in recent years.

Premiership Rugby, which runs the English top tier, said Saturday that Saracens will finish the current season before being dropped down to the second-level RFU Championship.

The London-based club have won four of the last five English titles and three of the last four European Cup titles.

However, those victories were followed by allegations of rorting the English league's salary cap rules by making payments to companies owned by Saracens players.

 

[Woodsie]

Something needs to be done. I'm not sure about the proposed 'points system' as that would lead to arguments (ie. Jamie Lyon declined to play rep football even though he would have been one of the first selected).

Slightly off topic .... but I am conflicted on this issue ... Have we asked ourselves why we want a legistlated and policed even playing field .... do we want all teams .... regardless of incompetence and stupidity .... to all have the same quality of players .. the same money to spend ... the same babysitting by big brother ?? .... Is this the big Marxist goal of the lefties ? ... no reward for good management ... ? .... the communist manifesto writ large for all to enjoy .... lets share the fans around so one team doesn't get more spectators than another .....

A place where ... regardless of Norths abysmal numbnuttery ... they would continue to get the benefit of a leg-up at the expense of well run franchises ?

 

[manly al]

Probably a bit difficult to relegate affiliated N R L clubs with relatively longer term broadcast rights governed by set number of participating N R l sides and so on .. Stripping of previous premierships , severe fines and cap penalties , maybe the only tangible form of punishment that have some teeth as a deterrent .There was a proposal last year or so to put or impose some type of a tax or levy on clubs spending above a set or allocated limit on non cap related expenses . Not too sure what happened to that suggestion though . Bit hard to restrict or control T P A " s as well . The current system and arbitrary or discretionary powers of Greenburg does allow so much opportunity for distorting the general guidelines . No doubt is reliant on the necessary integrity and credibility of the overall N R L administration practices and with Greenburg and his compliant cronies largely calling the shots , next to Buckley "s chance of getting some consistent and proper outcomes and decisions for the collective welfare of the game and the majority of its stakeholders .

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Slightly off topic .... but I am conflicted on this issue ... Have we asked ourselves why we want a legistlated and policed even playing field .... do we want all teams .... regardless of incompetence and stupidity .... to all have the same quality of players .. the same money to spend ... the same babysitting by big brother ?? .... Is this the big Marxist goal of the lefties ? ... no reward for good management ... ? .... the communist manifesto writ large for all to enjoy .... lets share the fans around so one team doesn't get more spectators than another .....

A place where ... regardless of Norths abysmal numbnuttery ... they would continue to get the benefit of a leg-up at the expense of well run franchises ?

You are muddling up two quite separate concepts.

I haven’t noticed anyone calling for all teams to be equal or for all games to be played at identical stadiums before the same number of fans and end in a 22-all draw

That is an absurdity.

However the outcry over perceived corruption of the cap and the governing of the various clubs is quite understandable in my view. Two-contract Cam, GI and his boat, Politis and his incredibly poor golf record, the Broncos and their favoured draw, basically what fans see is that if you are rich and well-connected then you can bend and/or break the rules with impunity, giving you an unfair advantage.

 

[Tomay]

I like the NBA system of contracts a lot.

 

[Woodsie]

You are muddling up two quite separate concepts.

I haven’t noticed anyone calling for all teams to be equal or for all games to be played at identical stadiums before the same number of fans and end in a 22-all draw

That is an absurdity.

However the outcry over perceived corruption of the cap and the governing of the various clubs is quite understandable in my view. Two-contract Cam, GI and his boat, Politis and his incredibly poor golf record, the Broncos and their favoured draw, basically what fans see is that if you are rich and well-connected then you can bend and/or break the rules with impunity, giving you an unfair advantage.

You seem to be muddling up two quite seperate concepts .... the desire for a fair system .. and corruption ....

The Sea Eagles glorious successes of the 70's would never have occurred if some of the current communist manifesto concepts being suggested were in place .....

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

The Sea Eagles glorious successes of the 70's would never have occurred if some of the current communist manifesto concepts being suggested were in place .....

Can't say I've noticed any 'current communist manifesto concepts' myself, on the other hand I have no idea what you are talking about so who knows!. Are you sure you didn't just get lost on your way back from the general discussion forum?

 

[40 nil]

Your problem is not the principle .... but the laws of restraint of trade .... to limit somebodies earning capacity is a very serious legal issue ..... I am certain that within days of any such rule being introduced .... 20 players would launch legal action .

I agree, but anything like the system I've suggested would require agreement between the NRL, the RPLA and the clubs before it could be implemented. A cap on salary + top ups is probably not a good idea with reference to restriction of free trade - so that can be scrapped.

Using some version of what I've suggested, the top echelon of players would probably be on similar money to what they are now anyway.

Having a tiered inner cap could prevent players being paid 'overs', e.g. Milford, Bird & Hunt are all reported to be on salaries @ 1M. They are certainly not worth that amount in what they bring to their respective teams.

A tiered inner salary cap would make it easier for clubs to retain young players they have developed. For example, Fainu, Garrick & Parker's salaries could be 'topped up' as a result of rep honours they've received thus far.

 

[Bearfax]

Draft or player ratings. Then teams can pay whatever they like to players, but can only keep players based on their rating and the total allowed player rated allocation, or face a draft system where they cant just pluck out all the best players from other clubs.

 

[Ryan]

Doesn't the fact that there are a minimum/maximum number of players allowed in a squad, plus a minimum base salary for an NRL player mitigate the allowance that 3-4 players can take up 90% of the cap?

 

[40 nil]

... teams can pay whatever they like to players, but can only keep players based on their rating and the total allowed player rated allocation

Teams in the newly started NRLW competition have a player ratings cap - guess this could be adapted to the NRL.

Each club will be allowed to sign 22 players whose value totals a minimum of 120 points and a maximum of 160 points, with a player worth: 10 points if they played for the Jillaroos or Kiwi Ferns; 8 points if they played State of Origin for NSW or Queensland and so on ...

Points system salary cap set to be introduced for NRLW

Brisbane may need to shed players from their historic grand final winning squad under a new points system salary cap to be introduced for the second season of the NRL Holden Women’s Premiership.

www.nrl.com

 

[Woodsie]

So .... when Menzies would have been forced out of the club due to a rating system rather than signing for less to stay .... or when 3 of the 2008 team that signed for unders had to leave ..... everybody would be happy .....

Well run clubs attract players and loyalty .... to have rules that say this can't happen .... you need to share your players with basketcase clubs like Titans ... is just rewarding incompetence and mediocrity .....

Sport and life isn't about fair ... and any organisation like the NRL or individual clubs that don't strive for excellence will surely wither and die .... I am not a fan of anything that artificially tries to make all teams equal despite their mangement .....

We may hate the chooks .... but there is no doubt that they are the benchmark all other clubs should be striving to emulate ..... if they are doing it illegally ..... then triple or quadruple the penalties ..... but to put rules in place to drag them back to the level of the Parra's .... rather than telling Parra to lift their game to a higher level is just arrssebacked wrong way round ...... and a one-way path tp oblivion ...

 

[40 nil]

when Menzies would have been forced out of the club

Not if there was 50% cap discount for 10 year veterans as there is the AFL. Other features of the AFL salary cap - average player wage is $371,000 & just 6 players currently earn 1M per season. Maybe there is more for the NRL to learn from the AFL.

AFL salary cap - Wikipedia

 

[The Who]

Teams in the newly started NRLW competition have a player ratings cap - guess this could be adapted to the NRL.

Each club will be allowed to sign 22 players whose value totals a minimum of 120 points and a maximum of 160 points, with a player worth: 10 points if they played for the Jillaroos or Kiwi Ferns; 8 points if they played State of Origin for NSW or Queensland and so on ...

Points system salary cap set to be introduced for NRLW

Brisbane may need to shed players from their historic grand final winning squad under a new points system salary cap to be introduced for the second season of the NRL Holden Women’s Premiership.

www.nrl.com

Problem with your suggestion, as I see it, is that the points seem based on current representative honours. What happens to the rep player who was injured and missed current selection? Or (as I pointed out earlier) to a superstar like Jamie Lyon who declined to play rep footy? Is representing a 'lesser quality' national team (such as PNG, Lebanon etc) worth as much as an Australian representative?
For me a points system is too subjective and open to anomalies which will be decided by Greenturd's "discretion".
The debate is worth having because the current cap is a joke. The most simple 'solution' may be to have all players' salaries openly declared, and then let the laughing start. If a club has been lying about a true salary then they loss that amount from the cap for the following season.
What fun and games that would create. Imagine every fan going through the oppositions' roster and reporting the cheating.
Great fun.

 

[40 nil]

Problem with your suggestion, as I see it, is that the points seem based on current representative honours.

Maybe points for rep honours could gradually diminish the longer a player has not been selected, e.g Tony Williams no points if he ever plays NRL again. Many players are only selected for one off rep games due to circumstance & struggle sometimes for a regular NRL spot later. International ratings points would need to be matched with the status of individual countries.