bit of a hard 1 really to answer till the agreement gets signed as it could go either way especially for storm if threy got money for nas
as for other players no one as yet
as for other players no one as yet
Wrighty
Apparently whenever the CBA and Salary Cap is finalised the Minimum wage will be increase from $77, 500 to $150,000 and Development contracts increased to $125,000 for 2023
Wrighty
Pre season starts in Feb 09
This is unlikely to be signed by then
We will see a shortened season next year?
This is unlikely to be signed by then
We will see a shortened season next year?
mt.wellington
Warriors Orange Peeler
Contributor
Good move. Player #30 works just as hard as player #1. $77.5k is shit coin for someone who has to remain an athlete for 24 hours a day for 340 odd days a year. Its also a privilege to earn $150k plus so I hope the game is far harsher on those that bring the game into disrepute...
Wrighty
Then maybe lower the top 30 to a top 27 and expand the number of development contracts
mt.wellington
Warriors Orange Peeler
Contributor
A couple articles to everyone up to speed with one from the last CBA in 2017 but still relevent for those wanting to understand the process...
The CBA explained
This year marks the final year of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NRL and Players. The NRL, representing itself and NRL Clubs, along with the Rugby League Players Association, as representative of the Players, will be involved in negotiations throughout the season to agree terms and conditions of the next CBA which will take effect from 1 November 2017.
What is the Collective Bargaining Agreement (or CBA)?
The Collective Bargaining Agreement is an agreement between the NRL and the RLPA, which sets out the minimum terms and conditions of the Players’ employment and other important arrangements within the sport of Rugby League. The CBA includes a range of important matters that govern the relationship between all parties involved and balances the interests of all key stakeholders in the best interests of the Game and its Players.
What does the RLPA hope to achieve from the next CBA?
The RLPA is committed to establishing terms and conditions that ensure Players at all levels of elite competition are valued, engaged and empowered to thrive both on and off the field of play.
How will this be achieved?
Working together
Create a genuine partnership between the Players and the NRL that values the voice of the Playing Group in key decisions and inspires and motivates Players to grow the Game.
Contracting and commercial arrangements
Develop a fair and straightforward contracting model and enable Players to capitalise their commercial value in the Game as well as recognising the challenges posed by career transition.
Integrity
Promotion of integrity and the Game’s values by recognising the importance of our actions both on and off the field. Empowering Players and providing the support for rehabilitation and reform.
Wellbeing and education
Increase focus on tailored wellbeing and education and a recognition that better people make better Players through promotion of personal and professional development and support during and after their playing careers.
Creating world class workplaces
Prioritise Player welfare, health and safety, development of best practice standards and the delivery of world class facilities.
Representation and engagement
Acknowledge the contribution of all Players at the elite level, including retired Players, and recognise the value of a well-resourced and effective RLPA.
Competition structure
Address increasing scheduling demands on Players, and identify an aspirational competition structure consistent with elite pathways that promotes the best product possible by enabling Players to have long and successful careers.
How will this benefit the Playing Group and the Game?
Through a fair, balanced CBA and establishing a genuine partnership between the NRL and Players, we will ensure the fairest systems, best support, ongoing education and care for our Players, ultimately enhancing their elite performance, on and off-field. In addition, Players at all levels of elite competition will be encouraged to take ownership of the Game’s growth and development.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement is the most important document in professional Rugby League. It is crucial that we take this opportunity to improve the Players terms and conditions, as well as safeguarding the Game and setting it up to prosper into the future.
www.rlpa.com.au
22:22 AEDT, 11 November 2022
The NRL and its star players are at loggerheads over the Collective Bargaining Agreement...
but what is it? What do the players want? And is it REALLY all about the money?: 'It’s very misleading'
The NRL, players and clubs are negotiating the Collective Bargaining Agreement
Players have grown frustrated with the lack of movement during negotiations
Here, Daily Mail Australia takes a look at the burning questions around the issue
The NRL, the players and the clubs are at loggerheads with negotiations over the forthcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) at a standstill.
Earlier this week, Melbourne gun Harry Grant claimed that development players on $60,000 would be 'better off on the tools' to highlight the disconnect between the stars and the league at present.
Meanwhile, other reports suggest that Canterbury football boss Phil Gould unleashed at NRL chiefs during a recent event, airing his frustrations at a lack of movement from all parties.
But what is the Collective Bargaining Agreement? What do all the 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.
What is a Collective Bargaining Agreement?
The CBA is a deal between the NRL, the players and the clubs, which details the minimum terms and conditions of the players' employment as well as important financial arrangements within rugby league.
The CBA also covers a number of factors that are key to the relationships between the NRL, players and clubs and takes into account the interests of all parties.
All parties are currently negotiating a deal that will come into effect in 2023.
Who represents the players?
The Rugby League Players' Association (RLPA) represents every 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 striking a deal that is in the interests of the players.
The players are represented by an association (RLPA), which is headed by Clint Newton
What is the NRL offering?
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the NRL say the players have been offered a package worth $1.32bn over the next five years, the biggest financial proposal in the game's history.
In a show of transparency, the NRL claims that both clubs and players have been shown a detailed breakdown of the NRL's finances.
Their offer to the players represents a 40.5 per cent share of consolidated revenue from next year.
In real terms, the NRL insists that each club will have a salary cap of about $12m, up on the $9.18m limit set on clubs. That equates to an average salary of $400,000 a year for each player, although that figure is disputed.
They also stress that they need to take into account financial considerations outside of the men's game, with grassroots a priority.
ARLC chairman Peter V'Landys is helping lead negotiations with players and clubs over CBA
What do the players want?
The players' union wants a bigger slice of the pie. They've asked for their share of consolidated revenue to increase by two per cent on the NRL's initial 40.5 per cent offer.
The RLPA has also requested only a small jump in the salary cap, instead asking the game to focus on putting money towards hardship and retirement funds in order to support players' medical costs once they finish their careers of if they become injured and uncontracted.
'The clear majority of players will not see out the term of this CBA,' Newton said.
'This is why the players have a representative body to make responsible decisions and invest in areas that will support them when they leave the game.
'If we were being greedy we'd want to dump every dollar into the salary cap. Make it $15 to $20 million.
This area of ensuring retiring players are better looked after is something we're really passionate about. I am a retired player. I'm lucky but I know what it's like for others.
'I've seen teammates struggle and it's hard to watch. That's why every player has agreed to look after these guys rather than put the money into their own wallets. It's for injury hardship, medical support funds and all sorts of things. They've got the rest of their lives to live.'
The union also says it wants to direct most of the salary cap bonus to lower-income players, which would raise the minimum wage to $150,000 a year.
Newton said the RLPA is also calling for more investment in the NRLW.
'There should be a big increase in the women's game,' he said.
'They deserve that.
'The commission has to be prepared to prioritise the women and the NRLW clubs. The problem is exacerbated because the broadcast deal does not provide for $1 above production costs for the women's game. They've undervalued our fantastic female athletes.'
What are the main sticking points?
Well, the RLPA disputes some of the figures quoted by the NRL. They are forecasting a salary cap of $10.5m for men's teams in 2023, which they claim equates to an average salary of $360,000 per year.
The association also argues that the CBA will have to cover more than 300 extra players due to the introduction of a new NRL team, the Dolphins, as well as four new NRLW teams, meaning that they are actually going backwards - especially when inflation is considered.
They're not overly convinced with the NRL's transparency when it comes to its finances during Covid, either. Players agreed to take a pay-cut during the pandemic but the NRL performed better than expected, financially, and agreed that the players were due backpay. The issue has been how much the players should receive.
The NRL initially handed over $11m in backpay in February but there were doubts whether that was a genuine figure. They subsequently increased the figure to $38m in August.
Elsewhere, the RLPA are also campaigning for the introduction of a match-payment system so that a player can earn $2000, for each top-grade appearance, as well as fees for players who compete in finals games, in a similar manner to State of Origin.
That would mean that a player with over four finals appearances 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'.
Newton told the Daily Telegraph that the players are disputing suggestions they were actually getting a 34 per cent increase under the current offer.
'It looks good at first glance but it's not. For this CBA you have to add in a new NRL team [40 players] plus 10 extra full-time contracts outside the to 30 at each club to share the money,' he said,
'The NRL players are going from $980 million all up to $1.198 billion. That's a 22 per cent increase, not 34 per cent. You've got to take into account the NRL's consolidated revenue is increasing by 25.15 per cent so the offer isn't even keeping pace with NRL financial growth.
'The salary cap is not actually $12.5 million. It's closer to $10.5 million. They've added cars, train and trial players, development players that were previously separate to the cap. It's very misleading.
'Do we genuinely believe despite the players and clubs being the main generators of the revenue, that they don't deserve to track in line with the same percentage share as the previous CBA term? The players have actually taken a discount to fund other areas of the game.'
We've heard about the players, but what do the clubs want?
This one is pretty straightforward. The clubs are negotiating for a fixed sum of money they will receive each year on top of the salary cap to cover all expenses besides player payments.
The hard figure they want is $5m. While chiefs from Souths, Canberra and Melbourne had 'productive' talks with Andrew Abdo this week, there remains some work to do to strike an agreement.
One unnamed club chief executive told the Sydney Morning Herald: 'It's just an absolute s***-show at the moment.'
However, the clubs are understood to be further down the road in negotiations than the players and are more likely to reach an agreement sooner, although they are hesitant to sign off on an agreement until the RLPA strikes a deal.
So, it's just about the money?
Not entirely. As mentioned before, the CBA covers a wide range of issues and one such sticking point has been the matter of complimentary ticketing.
Players have been told that $22m will be set aside in the CBA for a small allocation of tickets for family and friends at each games.
But the AFL has no such contingent in their employment conditions and typically gift tickets to players as a token of goodwill.
The players also want a greater say in how off-field incidents and behavioural issues are handled.
'We understand accountability is part of the game and, following due process, if sanctions are required then that will play out,' Newton said.
'However, our system is broken and requires urgent attention. A review of our entire integrity process and procedures has been on the table for three years with a full review meant to be finalised. Yet here we are in November 2022 and still nothing to show for it.
'We are a long way from best practice and we need a mature model based on procedural fairness, and with a clear sanctioning framework so everyone can have trust in the system and have confidence they will be given a fair go.'
When is the deadline?
Well, that's already passed. The parties were supposed to reach an agreement on October 31, but that has been passed by some distance.
Expect talks to accelerate over the coming days as the New Year fast approaches.
www.dailymail.co.uk
The CBA Explained
21/03/2017The CBA explained
This year marks the final year of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NRL and Players. The NRL, representing itself and NRL Clubs, along with the Rugby League Players Association, as representative of the Players, will be involved in negotiations throughout the season to agree terms and conditions of the next CBA which will take effect from 1 November 2017.
What is the Collective Bargaining Agreement (or CBA)?
The Collective Bargaining Agreement is an agreement between the NRL and the RLPA, which sets out the minimum terms and conditions of the Players’ employment and other important arrangements within the sport of Rugby League. The CBA includes a range of important matters that govern the relationship between all parties involved and balances the interests of all key stakeholders in the best interests of the Game and its Players.
What does the RLPA hope to achieve from the next CBA?
The RLPA is committed to establishing terms and conditions that ensure Players at all levels of elite competition are valued, engaged and empowered to thrive both on and off the field of play.
How will this be achieved?
Working together
Create a genuine partnership between the Players and the NRL that values the voice of the Playing Group in key decisions and inspires and motivates Players to grow the Game.
Contracting and commercial arrangements
Develop a fair and straightforward contracting model and enable Players to capitalise their commercial value in the Game as well as recognising the challenges posed by career transition.
Integrity
Promotion of integrity and the Game’s values by recognising the importance of our actions both on and off the field. Empowering Players and providing the support for rehabilitation and reform.
Wellbeing and education
Increase focus on tailored wellbeing and education and a recognition that better people make better Players through promotion of personal and professional development and support during and after their playing careers.
Creating world class workplaces
Prioritise Player welfare, health and safety, development of best practice standards and the delivery of world class facilities.
Representation and engagement
Acknowledge the contribution of all Players at the elite level, including retired Players, and recognise the value of a well-resourced and effective RLPA.
Competition structure
Address increasing scheduling demands on Players, and identify an aspirational competition structure consistent with elite pathways that promotes the best product possible by enabling Players to have long and successful careers.
How will this benefit the Playing Group and the Game?
Through a fair, balanced CBA and establishing a genuine partnership between the NRL and Players, we will ensure the fairest systems, best support, ongoing education and care for our Players, ultimately enhancing their elite performance, on and off-field. In addition, Players at all levels of elite competition will be encouraged to take ownership of the Game’s growth and development.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement is the most important document in professional Rugby League. It is crucial that we take this opportunity to improve the Players terms and conditions, as well as safeguarding the Game and setting it up to prosper into the future.
The CBA Explained - RLPA
The CBA explained This year marks the final year of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NRL and Players. The NRL, representing Read More...
www.rlpa.com.au
22:22 AEDT, 11 November 2022
The NRL and its star players are at loggerheads over the Collective Bargaining Agreement...
but what is it? What do the players want? And is it REALLY all about the money?: 'It’s very misleading'
The NRL, players and clubs are negotiating the Collective Bargaining Agreement
Players have grown frustrated with the lack of movement during negotiations
Here, Daily Mail Australia takes a look at the burning questions around the issue
The NRL, the players and the clubs are at loggerheads with negotiations over the forthcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) at a standstill.
Earlier this week, Melbourne gun Harry Grant claimed that development players on $60,000 would be 'better off on the tools' to highlight the disconnect between the stars and the league at present.
Meanwhile, other reports suggest that Canterbury football boss Phil Gould unleashed at NRL chiefs during a recent event, airing his frustrations at a lack of movement from all parties.
But what is the Collective Bargaining Agreement? What do all the 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.
What is a Collective Bargaining Agreement?
The CBA is a deal between the NRL, the players and the clubs, which details the minimum terms and conditions of the players' employment as well as important financial arrangements within rugby league.
The CBA also covers a number of factors that are key to the relationships between the NRL, players and clubs and takes into account the interests of all parties.
All parties are currently negotiating a deal that will come into effect in 2023.
Who represents the players?
The Rugby League Players' Association (RLPA) represents every 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 striking a deal that is in the interests of the players.
The players are represented by an association (RLPA), which is headed by Clint Newton
What is the NRL offering?
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the NRL say the players have been offered a package worth $1.32bn over the next five years, the biggest financial proposal in the game's history.
In a show of transparency, the NRL claims that both clubs and players have been shown a detailed breakdown of the NRL's finances.
Their offer to the players represents a 40.5 per cent share of consolidated revenue from next year.
In real terms, the NRL insists that each club will have a salary cap of about $12m, up on the $9.18m limit set on clubs. That equates to an average salary of $400,000 a year for each player, although that figure is disputed.
They also stress that they need to take into account financial considerations outside of the men's game, with grassroots a priority.
ARLC chairman Peter V'Landys is helping lead negotiations with players and clubs over CBA
What do the players want?
The players' union wants a bigger slice of the pie. They've asked for their share of consolidated revenue to increase by two per cent on the NRL's initial 40.5 per cent offer.
The RLPA has also requested only a small jump in the salary cap, instead asking the game to focus on putting money towards hardship and retirement funds in order to support players' medical costs once they finish their careers of if they become injured and uncontracted.
'The clear majority of players will not see out the term of this CBA,' Newton said.
'This is why the players have a representative body to make responsible decisions and invest in areas that will support them when they leave the game.
'If we were being greedy we'd want to dump every dollar into the salary cap. Make it $15 to $20 million.
This area of ensuring retiring players are better looked after is something we're really passionate about. I am a retired player. I'm lucky but I know what it's like for others.
'I've seen teammates struggle and it's hard to watch. That's why every player has agreed to look after these guys rather than put the money into their own wallets. It's for injury hardship, medical support funds and all sorts of things. They've got the rest of their lives to live.'
The union also says it wants to direct most of the salary cap bonus to lower-income players, which would raise the minimum wage to $150,000 a year.
Newton said the RLPA is also calling for more investment in the NRLW.
'There should be a big increase in the women's game,' he said.
'They deserve that.
'The commission has to be prepared to prioritise the women and the NRLW clubs. The problem is exacerbated because the broadcast deal does not provide for $1 above production costs for the women's game. They've undervalued our fantastic female athletes.'
What are the main sticking points?
Well, the RLPA disputes some of the figures quoted by the NRL. They are forecasting a salary cap of $10.5m for men's teams in 2023, which they claim equates to an average salary of $360,000 per year.
The association also argues that the CBA will have to cover more than 300 extra players due to the introduction of a new NRL team, the Dolphins, as well as four new NRLW teams, meaning that they are actually going backwards - especially when inflation is considered.
They're not overly convinced with the NRL's transparency when it comes to its finances during Covid, either. Players agreed to take a pay-cut during the pandemic but the NRL performed better than expected, financially, and agreed that the players were due backpay. The issue has been how much the players should receive.
The NRL initially handed over $11m in backpay in February but there were doubts whether that was a genuine figure. They subsequently increased the figure to $38m in August.
Elsewhere, the RLPA are also campaigning for the introduction of a match-payment system so that a player can earn $2000, for each top-grade appearance, as well as fees for players who compete in finals games, in a similar manner to State of Origin.
That would mean that a player with over four finals appearances 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'.
Newton told the Daily Telegraph that the players are disputing suggestions they were actually getting a 34 per cent increase under the current offer.
'It looks good at first glance but it's not. For this CBA you have to add in a new NRL team [40 players] plus 10 extra full-time contracts outside the to 30 at each club to share the money,' he said,
'The NRL players are going from $980 million all up to $1.198 billion. That's a 22 per cent increase, not 34 per cent. You've got to take into account the NRL's consolidated revenue is increasing by 25.15 per cent so the offer isn't even keeping pace with NRL financial growth.
'The salary cap is not actually $12.5 million. It's closer to $10.5 million. They've added cars, train and trial players, development players that were previously separate to the cap. It's very misleading.
'Do we genuinely believe despite the players and clubs being the main generators of the revenue, that they don't deserve to track in line with the same percentage share as the previous CBA term? The players have actually taken a discount to fund other areas of the game.'
We've heard about the players, but what do the clubs want?
This one is pretty straightforward. The clubs are negotiating for a fixed sum of money they will receive each year on top of the salary cap to cover all expenses besides player payments.
The hard figure they want is $5m. While chiefs from Souths, Canberra and Melbourne had 'productive' talks with Andrew Abdo this week, there remains some work to do to strike an agreement.
One unnamed club chief executive told the Sydney Morning Herald: 'It's just an absolute s***-show at the moment.'
However, the clubs are understood to be further down the road in negotiations than the players and are more likely to reach an agreement sooner, although they are hesitant to sign off on an agreement until the RLPA strikes a deal.
So, it's just about the money?
Not entirely. As mentioned before, the CBA covers a wide range of issues and one such sticking point has been the matter of complimentary ticketing.
Players have been told that $22m will be set aside in the CBA for a small allocation of tickets for family and friends at each games.
But the AFL has no such contingent in their employment conditions and typically gift tickets to players as a token of goodwill.
The players also want a greater say in how off-field incidents and behavioural issues are handled.
'We understand accountability is part of the game and, following due process, if sanctions are required then that will play out,' Newton said.
'However, our system is broken and requires urgent attention. A review of our entire integrity process and procedures has been on the table for three years with a full review meant to be finalised. Yet here we are in November 2022 and still nothing to show for it.
'We are a long way from best practice and we need a mature model based on procedural fairness, and with a clear sanctioning framework so everyone can have trust in the system and have confidence they will be given a fair go.'
When is the deadline?
Well, that's already passed. The parties were supposed to reach an agreement on October 31, but that has been passed by some distance.
Expect talks to accelerate over the coming days as the New Year fast approaches.
What is Collective Bargaining Agreement and what do NRL players want?
Daily Mail Australia takes a look at the burning questions amid the latest stand off engrossing the NRL as the players, clubs and league attempt to find a solution that suits all parties.
wizards rage
There seems to be an internal players struggle between the elite players (rewards based on performance) vs the fringe players (rewards based on effort). Professional players need to decide if they are paid on effort or results.
We’re always told the elite get more than their mere effort because they are the few in the world that can perform and deliver earning a performance and results driven pay scale. This is why they believe they deserve a set percentage of the games income for the players. They feel it is their performances that help generate the tv rights, filling up stadiums, use of their image, etc.
In a performance driven model the lower guys shouldn’t demand huge salaries just because they ‘work hard’. They contribute relatively little to the NRLs success, tv rights and income.
To me $77k is way to low; $150k is way to high. $100k seems about right with the incentive to keep improving and get the bigger coin if you can perform and contribute to the games success.
Wrighty
Wrighty
No flames for this = after reading Mt Wellington's article part of the issue is that the NRL numbers don't cover the expansion in the women's teams. Let the women have a completely seperate agreement with different financial and social growth drivers to be negotiated in a seperate year than the mens agreement to avoid conflation of issues..
No Flames please just my view
No Flames please just my view
Wrighty
I mean there are so many issues at hand in that article Mt Wellington proposed that the only solution I can see is for the NRL to lock the players out, suspend pre-seasons, and make the players give in on how many items they want to negotiate.
Look one of the issues is the change the focus of remuneration from a salary cap system to a retirement fund system as most players have short careers apparently. That is a FUNDAMENTAL shift to the entire business model that is never going to get resolved in a collective bargaining process. There instead needs to be a long term commitment from both sides to look into the issues with that and to float various discussion papers and economic studies over a period years with full engagement with a view to negotiate and embed recommendations 5 years or even 10 years from now.
The demands of the players are too fundamental and show an absurd lack of business acumen from what can be acheived in a bi lateral negotiation where revenue and wage maximisation is a key outcome for all concerned.
LOCK THE PLAYERS OUT AND THROW SOME COLD WATER IN THEIR FACES TO WAKE THEM UP TO WHAT IS POSSIBLE IN THE 2023 TIME FRAME.
Look one of the issues is the change the focus of remuneration from a salary cap system to a retirement fund system as most players have short careers apparently. That is a FUNDAMENTAL shift to the entire business model that is never going to get resolved in a collective bargaining process. There instead needs to be a long term commitment from both sides to look into the issues with that and to float various discussion papers and economic studies over a period years with full engagement with a view to negotiate and embed recommendations 5 years or even 10 years from now.
The demands of the players are too fundamental and show an absurd lack of business acumen from what can be acheived in a bi lateral negotiation where revenue and wage maximisation is a key outcome for all concerned.
LOCK THE PLAYERS OUT AND THROW SOME COLD WATER IN THEIR FACES TO WAKE THEM UP TO WHAT IS POSSIBLE IN THE 2023 TIME FRAME.
wizards rage
That’s always been my issue with unions. They are self interested by design and focused on their own income maximisation rather than looking at the bigger picture and the good of the game.
They have a place but responsibility for the game needs to be with the organisation with responsibility to all stakeholders.
mt.wellington
Warriors Orange Peeler
Contributor
Your absolutely right and I believe the final minimum wage will be in the ball park you say. The old 'if you want a dog first ask for a horse' type negotiation tactic Im guessing. The minimum is far too low and as Harry Grant said those players are definately better off on the tools.
Dont think the model needs to change to reflect the elite players contribution. Their salaries will automatically increase with the very elite starting to command in the area of $1.5 million. Something we have seen increase steadily after every CBA.
The new agreement must include better player welfare post career. What happened to the likes of Taniela Tuiaki must never be allowed to happen again...
Wrighty
Are we heading for the first-ever NRL Lockout?
With a year of CBA talks resulting in nothing so far, is the worst-case scenario a genuine possibility?
DAVID PIEPERSWRITER | DECEMBER 17, 2022 - 9:00AM
3568
After months of negotiations and regular iterations that things will be sorted ‘by the end of the week', we're still without any clarity on a Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NRL, ARLC and RLPA.
Given the previous deal expired at the end of October and things now appear unlikely to be resolved by the end of the year, it's worrying.
We're a month and a half into the free agency period and teams still can't make any substantial offers due to the fact they have no idea how much money they'll be allowed to spend in the new-look salary cap.
All we keep hearing is: ‘end of the week'.
It's worse for the women's game, with NRLW clubs unable to assemble their squads and players being forced to put their lives and livelihoods on hold. However difficult NRL squads may have it, the women's game is in a far more perilous position.
So what the hell is taking so long?
It's hard to ascertain when no one other than RLPA president Clint Newton is willing to shed too much light on talks. That's understandable in such meaningful deliberations, but as the situation drags on, communication should become paramount. Fans are stakeholders - we don't need to have a say on the matter, but we deserve to know what's happening.
The silence is deafening, and that fuels the belief that something is amiss.
It's time to start asking just how this situation could end if the parties still can't come to an agreement. Come January they'll have just six weeks before trial games start – so if nothing changes, what will happen to the NRL in 2023?
Are we about to see industrial action in an Australian sporting organisation? Are we about to see Australian rugby league's first-ever ‘lockout'?
It's hard to believe, but with every week that passes it becomes a more realistic proposition. If CBA terms haven't been agreed before Round 1, how is the competition supposed to go ahead?
“If we got to any type of industrial action, it would be a disaster for the code,” said RLPA Spokesperson Clint Newton – back at the start of November.
“We have a great opportunity to reach an agreement, have a CBA we can all stand on top of proudly and point to. We will continue to work through it and hold the line.”
Even saying ‘hold the line' could be seen as a forewarning of industrial action.
Unfortunately, other than those details infrequently eked to the public through Newton, there's little noise coming out of either end of the process.
Zero Tackle's repeated attempts to speak with both parties have been met with either flat-out refusal or indirect avoidance. The NRL have advised they won't talk about the matter until it is concluded.
But if it's taken this long, who's to say it won't take even longer?
What is a lockout?
In the simplest terms, a lockout is the shutdown of a professional league, typically prompted by a failure to come to terms on a collective bargaining agreement.
Though it's been an almost exclusively American problem over the years and has experienced plenty of variations across their major codes, that sounds exactly like what we're facing at the moment in the NRL.
It might take a slightly different shape here – in the US it's the franchise owners who shut things down, hence ‘lock out' the players as terms continue to be negotiated – but regardless of how it's executed, any industrial action would mean players don't take the field.
It's a precarious and complicated situation when you factor in the pressure from broadcasters to ensure the terms of their own highly-valued agreements are met. Without those broadcast deals, and without a product, revenue streams will take a significant hit that will then have a subsequent run-on effect for the next round of CBA negotiations.
In the most recent American lockout – the MLB lockout of 2021-22 – the league shut down for three months through pre-season following the expiration of the CBA. Despite having that time to do little else but come to an agreement, the league was forced to reschedule the two opening series' of the season because a deal had still not been reached.
So far, we're not going that way, despite the absence of a new deal and the ever-present uncertainty about what the future holds.
But if club owners decided to enact something similar, either at their own direction or that of the ARLC, pre-season training would be stopped, players would be prohibited from entering facilities, and clubs would remove all promotional content for the new season.
In the most recent NBA lockout (2011), clubs were not allowed to sign or trade players and facilities were closed as pre-season games were cancelled and the league was delayed for a month. When it came back, the season length had been reduced.
NRL clubs can't currently sign players, and with a considerably shorter season schedule than American codes, any shortening of the season would be disastrous to revenue from broadcast arrangements.
The NBA also experienced an economic impact, with broadcast partners losing both ratings and advertising revenue. The clubs themselves lost revenue from unplayed games and the takings that would have come from them.
Players went and joined foreign leagues to maintain match fitness, able to return when the league was finally green-lit.
It's worth noting that at the time of the NBA lockout, the league had posted a financial loss and only one-fifth of teams were profitable. That's why the biggest sticking point was a reduction in the share of revenue that players would be entitled to. That's not on the table in rugby league. Players are getting an increase - it's a matter of how much.
Eventually, terms were agreed and the shortened NBA season went ahead – but the deal far closer to the players' demands than the hopes of owners and administrators.
Thanks to the delays caused by industrial action, owners and players lost approximately $400 million. Though the league compensated players with $100,000 for lost revenue, the average lost income among players was over twice that amount.
Worse than the hip-pocket hit the players took, staff in both the NBA administration and various club set-ups lost their jobs. It was action felt by everyone, from headline players and club owners down to the part-time arena cleaning staff.
In the case of the NRL and RLPA, while both sides will likely earn a mix of praise and condemnation for their refusal to make any grand concessions that could expedite negotiations, if this situation continues they could ultimately be hurting themselves the most.
So, where are we at??
Of course, there are significant differences and complexities that make it hard to directly compare the current NRL situation with the American lockouts.
First and foremost, US competitions contain more teams and considerably more capital. While the NRL made approximately $575 million in revenue for 2021, the NBA made $8.3 billion – and that was a downturn from the year before.
Given NRL teams only play one game per week and the season is fewer than 30 games long for most, lost revenue wouldn't be anywhere near as high as the American organisations. But in relative terms, it would still be an unmitigated disaster.
At its core, the issues are the same – how big a piece of the pie should players be entitled to?
Industrial action and questions like this are always quite divisive, so it's understandable that neither party wants to entertain the thought publicly just yet.
But to ignore the increasing possibility of it as we head into the new year with no end in sight also becomes increasingly perilous.
Already the poles have been twitched at the extreme ends of public perception - people who think players are overpaid and over-entitled, and those who think the players should be given whatever they want after the sacrifices of COVID.
Admirably, the RLPA is also fighting for fringe players and the women's game, as well as setting up support and welfare structures for active and past players, which is increasingly important as we learn about the dire straits more and more former players are finding themselves facing.
Harry Grant has spoken about the need to do more to protect young and aspiring players financially so they can chase their dreamas and the RLPA has subsequently requested a doubling of the minimum wage.
While it's a altruistic notion worthy of praise, such a demand is not a simple fix, and it puts a mountain of pressure on budgets and the cap, making the issue of inflexibility more pronounced.
NRLW players and coaches have talked about the challenges they have to face, training for the new season without contracts in place and far fewer protections for their livelihoods than their NRL counterparts. They cannot sign any deals for the next NRLW season until the CBA is finalised.
If an NRLW star gets injured in pre-season, they're not covered and their careers could be over. Imagine living life with that much professional uncertainty. Imagine wanting to chase your dream that badly and having to wait while suits and full-timers get to decide your fate for you.
There's also the issue of COVID, and the sacrifices players made financially to keep the game afloat when others around the world closed. In isolation, this context makes the NRL's refusal of the two per cent increase the players are aiming for look questionable.
It's clear the players believe they are owed for the sacrifices they made – and few fans would disagree - but the reality must be more difficult than the proposition because it's hard to believe the ARLC would willfully refuse without reason.
But there are other sticking points as well.
The RLPA wants a seat on the ARLC so that players can have a voice whenever Peter V'landys or Andrew Abdo are next compelled to change the rules on a whim. The ARLC has pushed back, claiming they want the body to remain independent.
Is it really so outrageous that the players would like to be consulted about decisions that will impact them? To be fair, negotiations aren't helping their cause. Can you imagine if every decision the RLPA made took this long?
The ARLC has been championing a transfer window, while the RLPA claim it's a restraint of trade. There's the minimum wage, protections for the women's game, increases in prize money - both for the grand final and the NRL's proposed pre-season competition, which looks less likely and more ill-conceived every day.
If these negotiations were only getting underway now, we'd rightfully be nervous.
But they aren't, they've been going on for the better part of a year. If it's taken this long, is it that hard to believe we could reach mid-February without a new CBA?
We were told on November 8 that parties expected the CBA to be sorted 'by the end of the week'.
When we got to December 5 with no CBA in place, we were told to expect it 'by the end of the week'.
Just last week NewsCorp ran a story about the mass of signings expected after the CBA was going to be confirmed - at the end of the week.
Now, just over a week from Christmas, the Herald has reported that no one in clubland is confident a deal will be struck by the new year.
I find it hard to believe that the RLPA haven't considered what industrial action looks like by this point.
Back in November, Newton said: "We haven't threatened to boycott matches and stand down or have mass player activations. That's not the way we wanted to approach negotiations."
It may not be the way they wanted to approach things, but as 2023 draws closer by the day, it might be time to start thinking about how it all ends.
We'll let you know by the end of next week.
Are we heading for the first-ever NRL Lockout?
With a year of talks resulting in nothing so far, is the worst-case scenario a genuine possibility?
www.zerotackle.com
Wrighty
A pension for say everyone who manages 50 NRL games???
Here is my back of the envelope scientific wild guess calculations
Number of guys who retire or go to super league each year with 50 plus games = 15
Number of years this will retroactively apply for - 40 years back to 1980
15*40= 600 qualified NRL pensioners
Amount of pension $250 per week. $1000 per month $12000 per year
$12000*600=$7.2M per annum
Which will negotiated upwards at each successive CBA to include more and more players
What happened to Taniela Tuiaki
Blain
Mate there won't be a pension. That would be insane. Players need to prepare for the real world, and are encouraged too from the start.
From memory Taniela Tuiaki was a destructive West Tigers winger, who had terrible leg injuries and retired. I would assume he wasn't looked after or supported well. Guys like him and Yow Yeh should be supported into careers post retirement.
But you can't expect every player who did a knee and couldn't make it back to NRL, to be fully supported into the real world. To an extent. I don't know how certain players are more looked after than others - complicated matter.
From memory Taniela Tuiaki was a destructive West Tigers winger, who had terrible leg injuries and retired. I would assume he wasn't looked after or supported well. Guys like him and Yow Yeh should be supported into careers post retirement.
But you can't expect every player who did a knee and couldn't make it back to NRL, to be fully supported into the real world. To an extent. I don't know how certain players are more looked after than others - complicated matter.
Wrighty
Wrighty
Wrighty
I will be highly slutted with all concerned especially the players for their large demands if there is no 2023 season or only half on one.
I thoroughly enjoy rugby league and will be annoyed to the max if it is taken away from me.
This is looking more and more likely with comments from the RLPA like :"in the event of a lock out we need to hold the line and nit budge on our positions".
I thoroughly enjoy rugby league and will be annoyed to the max if it is taken away from me.
This is looking more and more likely with comments from the RLPA like :"in the event of a lock out we need to hold the line and nit budge on our positions".
mt.wellington
Warriors Orange Peeler
Contributor
Taniela Tuiaki still yet to see significant support six years after career ending ankle injury
Nick WalshawJuly 17, 2015 - 12:08PM
SIX years after a gruesome ankle injury ended his career, Taniel Tuiaki is still one of the forgotten men of rugby league.
TANIELA Tuiaki is worth a grand.
Nothing more, apparently.
Four figures is all rugby league can muster for this broken body on a pile of who knows how many?
“Players like me, nobody gives a shit,’’ Tuiaki concedes. “We can’t bring anyone through the turnstiles anymore. Can’t make any money for the game.
“So what do I matter? I’m just a broken down black kid from New Zealand.”
Speaking with The Daily Telegraph from Darwin, where he now works in a Youth Detention Centre, Tuiaki is discussing life as a man left disabled and forgotten by rugby league.
But we told you all this a year ago, remember?
Tuiaki is one of the forgotten men of rugby league.
Explaining how this Wests Tiger once crowned Dally M Winger of the Year, a colossus who rose up to become the most feared finisher in the code, now wakes every morning and limps down the hallway of his rented home.
Some days, his ankle aches. Others, Tuiaki struggles to even walk.
“And fish oils, ointments, painkillers — I’ve tried the lot,’’ he says. “Nothing works.”
Six years after an innocuous tackle shattered both his ankle and future — after enduring three operations and another 18 months of failed rehabilitation — Tuiaki is still struggling to get himself right.
Emotionally, he is free of the depression that followed his first two years in retirement.
But still his ankle remains so badly damaged, a specialist is now urging him into a fourth operation — this time in Adelaide.
“But where do I get the money for that?’’ Tuiaki asks. “When I left the game, there was no insurance payout, no fundraisers, nothing.
“If I’d been injured on a job site, I’d still be getting looked after. But unfortunately, rugby league was my job.
“I know Wests Tigers were going to do something, but it never happened.
“After doctors said I was finished, I went home to Auckland for what was supposed to be a week. I stayed two years.
“Just lived with mum. Didn’t work and didn’t need to. I wasn’t going anywhere, I was too depressed.
“By the time I came back it was too late, no one wanted to know me.”
Still don’t.
“It’s strange,” he continues. “Sometimes I’m mentioned in the papers, on Fox Sports or whatever. I think Paul Gallen tweeted something after that Alex McKinnon program on 60 Minutes, too.
“But who do I go to for help?
“When I moved up here to Darwin for work, Men of League gave me a thousand dollars. I was so grateful because that helped pay for my bond.”
Of course, the game promised a lot more than a grand, too.
For The Daily Telegraph was there at the Simon Dwyer Fundraiser late last year. Listening as amid all the goodwill and auctions, people promised a similar night for Tuiaki.
So yesterday, well, we decided to phone the man himself and see if the game had come good.
“Nah, nothing yet,’’ Tuiaki replied hopefully, like maybe someone is still listening.
“Although this week I called my old manager, Martin Tauber. Asked if there’s a way to get funding for this latest operation, given it happened playing NRL.
“He’s told me I have to fill out application forms, so that might be something.
“But really, who knows?
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