Salary Cap

[Number6]

Salary cap as it stands is a blight on the game. Little reward for developing talent or building culture of success. Few one club legends which surely negatively impacts fan loyalty (and one club players getting unders in exchange for loyalty). It is a restriction of trade for players and clubs with some nice legal massaging to be kosher.

The game perhaps benefits from some restraint (although no real evidence to support the system, just same bs story about benefits of evenness aka mediocrity - if clubs can't manage their books wouldn't hurt to let a couple go broke just feel sorry for their 50 fans) but surely it has gone to far.

How about some tweaks?

- Loyalty discounts I.e 2% per year each year at club kicking in after 5 years (since age 16 maybe), remove the existing cap benefits
- Age discounts for over 30 i.e 10% and over 33 i.e 20%.
- Luxury tax for over the cap purchases, rather than a hard cap? I.e $1 per $1 up to $500000 and $2 tax after till a million. Then keep doubling.
- Change income year calculations for cap so June 30 transfers aren't a fraction of the cost for a few months till November.
- Put players on a % of the cap rather than an amount so cap changes don't affect negotiations or long term contracts.
- Decrease role of second tier cap and have larger squad of 35 or 40 so doesn't influence player selection options.

 

[Alec]

Salary cap is definitely a Newcastle Knights level of shit, but it keeps the worthless clubs alive, so the NRL loves it, because they can also keep advertising each season as the "Closest season yet". There definitely need to be loyalty/long term exemptions though, clubs need to be rewarded for developing players. It's almost not really worth it these days.

 

[Organix]

Those ideas aren't too bad :). I wouldn't want to see the salary cap gone, I prefer it to the ridiculous money that American Sportstars and Soccer players etc. are on. The price of a game rises too high, people get paid stupid money for playing a sport and it all just gets sickening when the same few rich clubs are the only ones with a chance to win. Also, there isn't enough of a loyal fan-base for some clubs to survive that scenario and we would more than likely see only 8 decent games per year.

I do see the need to implement strong changes to the cap to reward loyalty and prevent poaching as it were. However, the media thrive on these transfers and players rely on the media for their asking price to rise.

I don't really see a solution other than the good start you have made.

 

[Sproj]

Most of the US sports do have a salary cap, it's just ridiculously high and if you are a rich club you can legally break the cap if you compensate other teams.

 

[Nashy]

Get rid of it. Let the useless clubs due and give their licence to business' that aren't run terribly by big dumb ex footballers.

 

[mitch222]

I like the salary cap. It levels the playing field for everyone. Last thing we need is an EPL or La Liga style league where only 4 teams are winning every year and that's it

 

[Sproj]

I like the salary cap. It levels the playing field for everyone. Last thing we need is an EPL or La Liga style league where only 4 teams are winning every year and that's it

Why are those two competitions so popular worldwide then?

 

[mitch222]

Why are those two competitions so popular worldwide then?

Because soccer is an international sport.
Question, how many West Bromwich fans do you know? Or Real Betis? Or Deportivo de La Coruna?
I can name a ton of supporters that I know personally for each league team however.

 

[Nashy]

I like the salary cap. It levels the playing field for everyone. Last thing we need is an EPL or La Liga style league where only 4 teams are winning every year and that's it

So limit those who do well to the level of those who don't? Sounds completely fair.

Maybe if these shit clubs started having to take responsibility, their fans would start going to member meetings and start demanding actual businessmen run the places.

 

[Sproj]

Because soccer is an international sport.
Question, how many West Bromwich fans do you know? Or Real Betis? Or Deportivo de La Coruna?
I can name a ton of supporters that I know personally for each league team however.

We live IN Australia and how many Wests Tigers fans do you know?

 

[mitch222]

We live IN Australia and how many Wests Tigers fans do you know?

About 30
My uncle and all his family are Tigers fans

 

[mitch222]

So limit those who do well to the level of those who don't? Sounds completely fair.

Maybe if these shit clubs started having to take responsibility, their fans would start going to member meetings and start demanding actual businessmen run the places.

Start punishing the clubs for not lifting their standards. Take their licences off them and give them to more capable people

 

[OXY-351]

We live IN Australia and how many Wests Tigers fans do you know?

16. Used to be 17, but then Moses left.

 

[Big Pete]

The issue the NRL has is that they need these clubs like Newcastle & Wests around if only for their junior development programs. Some of the best talent we're seeing coming through the game came through those systems and unlike other sporting codes everything in the NRL is under one umbrella.

I believe changes should be made to reward clubs for showing loyalty and developing talent. Even something as easy as a transfer fee when you buy a player that was developed like an Anthony Milford from Canberra or Mitchell Moses from Wests would go a long way.

As it currently stands, the salary cap just seems like an unnecessary hurdle. Clubs like Brisbane, Canterbury & Sydney will still be able to get the teams they want, they just have to be patient and budget for a mediocre season in-between their periods of finals dominance. Weaker clubs like Parramatta, Newcastle, Gold Coast, Wests etc have to settle for mediocre players or pay massive overs to bring in anybody of importance. Usually the cap does more harm than good and they can't nab a bargain since they can't sell their culture like other clubs can.

I wouldn't get rid of it altogether since it wouldn't make a lot of business sense, but I would add similar provisions as you Number 6. The more we can reward sides for developing talent instead of simply recycling the same players over and over the better.

I still believe the NRL has other issues they need to deal with. Namely the draw, the player transfer window, rep. football, expansion and crowds. Once they make significant strides there, then you can make some radical changes to the cap.

 

[Nashy]

Start punishing the clubs for not lifting their standards. Take their licences off them and give them to more capable people

Is pretty much what I said earlier.

 

[mitch222]

Expansion should be the last thing on the NRLs agenda at the moment. Relocation should be the topic of discussion

 

[Nashy]

Expansion should be the last thing on the NRLs agenda at the moment. Relocation should be the topic of discussion

Why should somewhere like Perth, who have a fully functioning junior league system operating, have to be given a hand-me-down useless club?

In the real world, business that are run like shit, go belly up. Why are we trying so hard to be different than the world league is played in?

 

[Porthoz]

Because soccer is an international sport.
Question, how many West Bromwich fans do you know? Or Real Betis? Or Deportivo de La Coruna?
I can name a ton of supporters that I know personally for each league team however.

I know at least a few of Betis or Depor, none of West Bromwich though... although most English soccer fans would know a few EPL fans I'd say.

I'm not saying that the EPL or La Liga, or even the PT Liga have it right though, but they do create spectacle.

The cap should be a means to allow less rich clubs to compete, not to pull the best run clubs down to their mediocre level.

The biggest problem with the NRL is having a gazillion clubs in the Sydney area, which draw funds and fans away from each other.
Australia is pretty unique in that too, as it has the only two codes that I know of, where most clubs are concentrated in one city, instead of spread over the country.
London and its suburbs is the one which comes closest with 6 clubs, but it houses almost 2/3's of Australia's population numbers.

Regardless, there's no easy answer, but there should definitely be more incentive to reward development, and albeit the numbers are ridiculous in US sports, we should look at how they structure their caps as well, which still allow well run clubs to reap their rewards.