The NRL salary cap will officially increase to $7 million in 2017. This could rise even higher if additional money comes into the game. The ARLC and the Rugby League Players’ Association recently signed off on the code’s long-awaited collective bargaining agreement. The deal ends protracted and, at times, tense negotiations between the parties after players threatened strike action if their demands were not met.
The cap will rise from $5.85 million in 2013 to $6.3m in 2014, to $6.55m in 2015, $6.8m in 2016 and then $7m the following year. However, the CBA states that by March 1, 2015, the NRL and RLPA ‘‘shall jointly undertake a review of the profitability of the game with a view to ascertaining whether payments and/or allowances can be increased’’ for the final two years of the agreement. The clause effectively allows for the players to potentially benefit should additional cash flow into the game’s coffers. The other key points to arise from the new CBA include:
Players who feel they have been unfairly sanctioned by their clubs or the league have the right to demand private arbitration. The last point applies to matters where the suspensions are for at least five weeks and the fines are $3000 or more. It would mean that, for instance, Robert Lui could have gone to independent arbitration over his year-long ban for domestic violence rather than the NRL Appeals Committee for determination. The CBA allows for a club to terminate a contract without paying out the player if an injury is "sustained in consequence of any personal misconduct on the part of the Player or when participating in an inherently dangerous leisure pursuit or activity." The ongoing ASADA investigation has raised fears that players could be left out of pocket if the outcome causes a club - such as Cronulla, for instance - to fold. Those fears will be allayed under the new agreement, which states: "If a Club Licence Agreement is terminated by the NRL, the NRL will assume liability for the payment of the Playing Fee, Match Fees and any sums guaranteed or underwritten by the Club that was a party to that Club Agreement in relation to a Marquee Player Allowance or a Motor Vehicle Allowance which are due to each Player of that Club under any NRL Playing Contracts that are current and registered at the time of termination (not option years)". The caveat is a player "accepts all reasonable direction from the NRL in relation to his future employment as a player at a replacement Club, which may be situated anywhere in Australia or New Zealand. The NRL will pay the costs of all reasonable relocation costs."