Brian Smith: Fixing game's funding crisis won't be easy
BY BRIAN SMITH
AS debate heats up over rugby league's financial position, I can't help reflecting on the Super League war of the mid-1990s.
All of us hoped for Super League to be the revolution that transformed our game from a semi-amateur competition into an era of new-found professionalism and prosperity.
Thirteen years later you could be excused for wondering what has changed for the clubs, many of whom appear to still be struggling to stay afloat.
Sure, the vast majority of players are full-time professionals these days and, as such, our product is a faster, more explosive spectacle because the athletes have never been better.
Training facilities and techniques have advanced dramatically, and there is no doubt that players have benefited from being able to concentrate exclusively on football.
Despite all that, I don't believe the game as a whole has kicked ahead as we hoped it would.
Massive amounts of money were spent during the war, but unfortunately it didn't fall into the right places. Not enough was directed into areas that really needed it, like development.
Now we find ourselves in a situation where, in recent weeks, concerns have been raised about whether a number of our clubs can continue to survive.
As the new pokie-tax laws bite into the leagues clubs, especially in Sydney, the footy clubs that rely on them for grants are starting to sound the alarm bells.
Last week we had Parramatta CEO Denis Fitzgerald suggesting that it was time to start reducing the salary cap.
I understand where Denis is coming from, because the last thing we want is a repeat of the situation where teams like the Auckland Warriors and Northern Eagles closed up shop, leaving players and staff either unpaid or waiting a long time to receive their dues.
That was a terrible look for our sport and eroded public confidence.
But the prospect of asking our players to take a step backwards financially so that we can all operate under a smaller salary cap would also be a blow to our collective credibility.
There is a perception that rugby league players are all on big money and are set for life by the time their careers finish.
I can assure you that is not the case.
Obviously the marquee players earn a good living, but I doubt whether anyone these days comes close to the $600,000 a year that a few guys got to sign with Super League in 1995.
Sonny Bill Williams, for instance, is at loggerheads with the Bulldogs over a contract reportedly worth $400,000 a season. And there are few players in the game as high profile as Sonny Bill. At the other end of the scale, many players earn a modest wage.
The NRL has just brought in a new rule whereby the minimum wage next season, for players 18 to 25 in each club's 25-player squad, will be set at $52,500.
That works out to be roughly a third of each club's roster on just over 50 grand.
There are probably 10 players at each club earning less than $100,000. And, remember, that is only for a short period. Players who survive a decade at the top are few and far between.
When you take all that into consideration, it is no surprise that an increasing number of players are happy to take the money and run to England or rugby union.
At this point, the elite players, by and large, are still based in the NRL. But there are quite a few Aussies playing in England who would walk into any NRL team.
The situation is causing so much concern that NRL management will meet with club officials on June 24 for a summit, and apparently one of the main items on the agenda will be drawing up a five-year battle plan.
Finding solutions won't be easy. I think our code's problems won't be solved just by looking at the books. It will take a united administration, and input from clubs and the players' association, to get rugby league moving forward.
Maybe then we will be able to regard the Super League vision as a reality.
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