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The NRL, players and clubs are at odds with the negotiations on the upcoming Collective Labor Agreement (CLA).
Earlier this week, Melbourne-based Harry Grant claimed development players with $60,000 would be “better off with the tools” to highlight the current gap between the stars and the competition.
Meanwhile, other reports suggest Canterbury football boss Phil Gould let loose on NRL chiefs at a recent event, expressing his frustrations over lack of movement from all sides.
But what is the collective labor agreement? What do all parties want? And is it really just about the money? Daily Mail Australia takes a look at the burning questions amid the latest stand-off.
Daily Mail Australia provides everything you need to know about the collective bargaining sage that is sweeping the NRL, players and clubs
What is a collective labor agreement?
The CBA is an agreement between the NRL, the players and the clubs, outlining the players’ minimum terms and conditions of employment, as well as key financial arrangements within the rugby league.
The SCBA also addresses a number of factors that determine the relationship between the NRL, players and clubs and takes into account the interests of all parties.
All parties are currently negotiating a deal that will take effect in 2023.
Who represents the players?
The Rugby League Players’ Association (RLPA) represents any player contracted to an NRL club during CBA negotiations.
Former Newcastle Knights star Clint Newton is the chairman of the association and so the American is tasked with making a deal that is in the best interest of the players.
The players are represented by an association (RLPA), which is led by Clint Newton
What does the NRL offer offer?
According to The Sydney Morning HeraldThe NRL says players will receive a $1.32 billion package over the next five years, the largest financial proposal in the game’s history.
In a show of transparency, the NRL claims that both clubs and players have been given a detailed breakdown of the NRL’s finances.
Their offer to the players will represent a share of 40.5 percent of the consolidated turnover from next year.
In real terms, the NRL insists that each club has a salary cap of approximately $12 million, up from the $9.18 million set for clubs. That works out to an average salary of $400,000 per year for each player, although that figure is disputed.
They also stress that they need to consider financial considerations outside of the men’s game, where basics are a priority.
ARLC Chairman Peter V’Landys Helps Lead Negotiations with Players and Clubs About CBA
What do the players want?
The players’ union wants a bigger slice of the pie. They have asked for their share of consolidated sales to be increased by two percent from the NRL’s original offer of 40.5%.
The RLPA has also requested only a small jump in the salary cap, instead asking the game to focus on investing money in hardship and retirement funds to cover players’ medical costs once they have finished their careers or if they they get injured and don’t get a contract.
The union also says it wants to spend most of the salary cap bonus on lower-income players, which would raise the minimum wage to $150,000 a year.
Harry Grant has arrived at the latest offer that players believe is a step backwards
What are the main bottlenecks?
Well, the RLPA disputes some of the figures quoted by the NRL. They forecast a $10.5 million salary cap for men’s teams in 2023, which they say equates to an average salary of $360,000 per year.
The union also states that the CBA will have to cover more than 300 additional players due to the introduction of a new NRL team, the Dolphins, as well as four new NRLW teams, meaning they will actually go backwards – especially if inflation is taken into account. .
They are also not overly convinced of the transparency of the NRL when it comes to its finances during Covid. Players agreed to implement a pay cut during the pandemic, but the NRL performed better than expected financially and agreed that the players were in arrears. The issue was how much the players should receive.
With the introduction of a new team, the Dolphins, the money is spread even further
The NRL initially handed over $11 million in backpay in February, but there were doubts that that was a real amount. They then increased the figure to $38 million in August.
Elsewhere, the RLPA is also campaigning for the introduction of a match payment system, allowing a player to earn $2,000 for each first-class appearance, as well as compensation for players competing in finals games, in a similar fashion to State of Origin.
That would mean that a player with more than four finals could earn as much as $36,000.
Newton is also far from impressed with “confidential information being deliberately and irresponsibly rolled out in the media,” adding that leaks “will only push us further apart.”
WI’ve heard about the players, but what do the clubs want?
This one is quite simple. The clubs negotiate a fixed amount that they will receive each year on top of the salary cap to cover all expenses except player payments.
The hard figure they want is $5 million. While chiefs from Souths, Canberra and Melbourne had ‘productive’ talks with Andrew Abdo this week, some work still needs to be done to reach an agreement.
An unnamed club director told the Sydney Morning Herald: ‘It’s just an absolute shit show right now.’
However, it is believed that the clubs are further along in the negotiations than the players and are more likely to reach an agreement, although they are hesitant to sign a deal until the RLPA strikes a deal.
Souths chief Blake Solly has been involved in negotiations with the NRL for the clubs
So it’s just about the money?
Not quite. As mentioned before, the CBA covers a wide range of issues and one such sticking point is the issue of free ticketing.
Players have been told that $22 million will be set aside in the CBA for a small allotment of tickets to family and friends at each game.
But the AFL has no such condition in their terms of employment and usually gives players tickets as a token of goodwill.
When is the deadline?
Well, that’s already over. The parties were supposed to reach an agreement on October 31, but that has gone ahead at some distance.
Expect talks to accelerate in the coming days as the new year approaches quickly.