NRL salary cap outstrips Gallagher Premiership for first time
The Rugby League Players Association claim they were blindsided by the NRL’s decision to release new salary cap figures for 2023, lashing out at the game’s powerbrokers for “disrespecting” the players.
League Central unveiled next season’s salary cap on Friday amid stalling talks between the NRL and the RLPA over the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
Clubs will be able to spend up to $12.1 million (£6.7 million) on players next season – a record figure and an increase from the 2022 figure of $9.6 million – with a rise in the minimum salary for a top 30-squad to $120,000.
NRLW sides have been given a beefed-up salary cap of $884,000 for next year, although no season start date or length has yet been determined.
The Gallagher Premiership is currently set at a reduced £5 million, a figure that will increase to £6.4 million in 2024, which excludes one marquee player per team and other player credits.
The figures unveiled on Friday only apply to the 2023 season.
But the RLPA say they only were informed of the new rise in the hours before the announcement.
Clubs had, until Friday, been operating on the basis of the 2022 cap, a fter the previous CBA lapsed at the start of the NRL’s contractual year on November 1.
Many chief executives had voiced concerns that the protracted CBA talks between head office and the RLPA was making it difficult for them to make decisions around the recruitment and retention.
While clubs finally have financial certainty, they will not suddenly be flush with cash given many contracts signed in recent months had ratchet clauses inserted which ensured pay rose in line with the cap.
It sets the scene for a tense meeting between the NRL and RLPA when they are expected to resume talks in the new year, with the players’ union accusing head office of undermining their attempts to strike agreement on the CBA.
“To announce new salary caps for players without their agreement and bypassing their association is unprecedented,” RLPA chair Deidre Anderson said.
“To the best of our knowledge, clubs were also not provided with the details of the new salary caps and player payment structure until approximatel y five minutes before the ARLC’s public announcement.
“For a governing body to set its own salary cap disrespects the entire player representation movement and the importance of collective bargaining.
“Today’s announcement goes against negotiating in good faith and only damages the trust between the players and the governing body.”
The RLPA say they only received an “185-word financial proposal” on Wednesday which related to all player payments and benefits with a deadline to respond on Thursday.
This included representative fees, wellbeing, education and injury funds – but did not specifically focus on the cap.
“It is not appropriate for the players to be rushed into agreeing to a financial proposal two days before Christmas,” Anderson added.
“Agreeing to this week’s financial proposal, even in principle, would have created even more uncertainty for the industry and players because we would be working backwards and re-engineeri ng terms and conditions to a figure that has already been set.”
Additional reporting RugbyPass
Comments on RugbyPass
Let’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
92 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
92 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
145 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
92 Go to commentsSpringboks won! Stop winging. You can change the game however much you and your rugby colonizing IRB want to and the Springboks will win you at that too. Your mind is colonized my friend get a life
92 Go to commentsBen, nobody gets fooled anymore by selective and biased data to support an hypothesis. Games are decided on such small margins these days that you win some and lose some, and dominance is a thing of the rugby past. Look at the RWC circle of fortune…. Ireland beats SA who beat France who beat NZ who beat Ireland. And so it goes on. Match officials help to eliminate real indiscretions. If they had been with us years before, no doubt results would have been different. Remember Andy Haden’s dive from a lineout in 1978 for which a match-wining penalty was awarded? Wales should have beaten the ABs that day. They took the loss like the gentlemen they were.
92 Go to commentsWith all the analysis and how good the all blacks were.The fundamental mistake with the ABs is that this is a test match and not an exhibition.There is no better team(country) in world rugby than the Boks that knows how to win a test match(we are post masters at this).We know our rules, we have the discipline, we tackle like beasts, we take our points and we never give up.I now have educated the ABs supporters(at least say thank you).Please stop “bitching” , accept what the outcome is and move along swiftly.
92 Go to commentsAnd they came from behind to win two big games before the final. No one can say what would have happened. Had the boks gone behind the game plan changes and the result may changes. Ifs and ands are irrelevant. The boks won. Neutral critics enjoyed the games they played. Its not a popularity contest. Get over it and move on.
92 Go to commentsI'm happy for the people of SA to get a second WC. And I mean that. I was very disappointed with this man's “stand on the hand” incident with Josh Van Der Flyer (Ireland). Ireland's downfall in the last WC was they did not rotate their first 15 as the head coach probably should have. That said, I'm happy for SA and genuinely hope it lifts the mood in their country. Ireland did beat them in the first match of the tournament. And before the trolls start trolling ….. please don't bother. Etzbeth said recently that the Irish players said after the match “see you in the final”…..this was actually wishing the SA team the best of luck in the rest, the Irish team were not dismissing the AB’s. This is what Etzbeth was implying. But he was wrong. I no longer live in Ireland. But I hope to see them lift that cup before I pass. Anyway, congratulations SA. 👍
12 Go to commentsMore bloody click bait. Dan Carter has said absolutely nothing. As he should do. Poor journalism again from a site that should know better
9 Go to commentsOh god please help these loosers get over it!!!! You lost. Doesn't matter how many times you dummies are gonna analyse the game, you still lost and we are still Rygby World Champions….get over it, you lost.
92 Go to commentsThe next Willie le Roux. SA are made not to use him.
3 Go to commentsDan has always been as controversial as tea with milk so we were never going to get any definitive answer. So DMac for the win.
9 Go to commentsGoodness. When are the All Blacks and New Zealand commentators going to stop complaining about how they could have won and just try to win next time 😂. In South Africa if you lose you get up and try again. Get over it.
92 Go to commentsHonestly, it doesn’t matter a whole lot. RSA has a ton of experienced talent in its leadership group. I am more interested in who is the new 8 man/8 men and the younger props. The captain may change but the system does not
1 Go to comments“See you in the final” can mean whatever you want it to mean. To me it means that 12 Irish rugby players are a bunch of poeses. See y’all in Pretoria.
145 Go to commentsBen, you are one of the most arrogant and self opionated rugby critics I have ever come across (next to Keohane). I hoped that after SA beating the best ranked teams in the world on their way to the WC (something not done before) that you might have the grace to admit that this is a special team that deserved the accolades coming their way. You have no humility and as has been been already pointed out, merely a troll to attract audience numbers. Count me out in the future.
92 Go to comments‘War of independence’. Such a grand name for a few skirmishes. Where were all the great battles of this ‘war’ ? Smith got goosebumps as he was being emotionally manipulated, another mushroom.
1 Go to commentsFor all those disputing the veracity of Etzebeth’s very public recollections of the Irish players’ comments, I have one question: should we be holding our collective breath in anticipation of a barrage of strenuous denials from the Irish squad? Then again, perhaps not…
145 Go to comments