TPA's to be examined.

[ivanhungryjak]

NRL CEO Todd Greenberg.
THE NRL has vowed to review the third-party agreement system in an effort to rid the game of salary cap rorting once and for all.
The Rugby League Players Association revealed in a statement the governing body has agreed to review the TPA system, which it says is largely to blame for clubs breaching the salary cap.
It comes in the wake of Manly being issued a breach notice after the NRL claimed to have found potential salary cap rorting over the past five years.
Two Sea Eagles officials have also been issued show cause notices and could be deregistered as punishment.
Now the NRL could completely overhaul the third-party system that often pushes clubs over the salary cap.
“What the preliminary findings do highlight is the need to review the current third-party agreement system,” the RLPA said.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time that salary cap breaches have been exposed which have a direct link to the negotiation and agreement of third party arrangements.
“As part of the collective bargaining agreement negotiations, the NRL and RLPA have agreed to undertake a review of the TPA system.
“While we do not have any fixed views on the system or how it could be improved, we look forward to working with the NRL and other key stakeholders to review the current arrangements.
“We stress that the review is not a direct consequence of the preliminary findings in relation to the Sea Eagles. However, the findings do reinforce the need to discuss improvements to this space.”
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Last week NRL 360 co-host Paul Kent delivered a mighty spray on Fox League, calling for the NRL to “throw out” third-party agreements altogether.
“Players can no longer argue they are being financially left in the lurch,” Kent said.
“It’s only the top earners anyway that get the third-party agreements, no one wants to sponsor player numbr 25 on your roster.
“It’s the top-end guys who are earning the big cash in their contracts, they’re getting third parties, the NRL needs to get the whole lot and throw them out and say that’s it, they are banned.”

From www.foxsports.com.au

 

[tommy]

Would not be against it, the haters would then have to come up with another excuse as to why we continually make the top 4/8. The other option would be to make everything completely transparent and make public what every player is on. Would throwing out TPA's be a restraint of trade though? Are individual players' sponsorships TPAs? Individuals do have a right to earn what they can while they can.

 

[Canga]

Be interesting how they would go about this, I agree you can't stop the players earning what they can through personal sponsorship in the limited time they are playing footy.

 

[Nashy]

Just make it unlimited, if the clubs want to get involved, let them deal with any legal bullshit that comes with players not getting paid. Then as a career choice, if you choose to go to a dump like Canberra, that's on you.

It would be one step closer to a comp that doesn't pander to the useless clubs.

 

[Morkel]

Kind of beside the point... But how many times has there been a negotiation (either a potential move or re-signing) that gets apparently held up due to "third party negotiations". By definition, and by the NRL rules, a third party deal can not be dependent on a player playing for a certain club. They're supposed to be sourced by the player or their manager, with clubs having zero to do with it unless they guarantee it, meaning it comes out of the very small TPA cap. So how come this goes on all the time and it's never investigated by the NRL?

 

[Super Freak]

Now the NRL could completely overhaul the third-party system that often pushes clubs over the salary cap.

Then don't make any TPA deals count towards the cap in any way. Problem solved.

 

[ivanhungryjak]

If players arent visibly connected to the NRL when they do what they do - eg an ad not in team colours - I dont see how the NRL can stop anyone from earning extra money.

 

[Super Freak]

If players arent visibly connected to the NRL when they do what they do - eg an ad not in team colours - I dont see how the NRL can stop anyone from earning extra money.

IIRC, the NRL can't do much about it and the players can earn an unlimited amount of money in TPA's provided they aren't organized by the club and they aren't dealing with anyone that's a sponsor of the club or wearing any club colours or sponsors clothing.

But if they are and the deals were organized by the club, then it's different.

 

[ivanhungryjak]

IIRC, the NRL can't do much about it and the players can earn an unlimited amount of money in TPA's provided they aren't organized by the club and they aren't dealing with anyone that's a sponsor of the club or wearing any club colours or sponsors clothing.

But if they are and the deals were organized by the club, then it's different.

That's right but all the talk at the moment is, "TPA's are the work of the devil - ban them completely".

 

[badyon]

Only a matter of time before a player takes the NRL all the way to the high court for restricting earnings.

 

[Cult]

If Manly can have an 81 year old grandmother sponsoring players as a legitimate TPA, what kind of TPAs wouldn't be allowed by the NRL?

 

[Foordy]

If Manly can have an 81 year old grandmother sponsoring players as a legitimate TPA, what kind of TPAs wouldn't be allowed by the NRL?

isn't part of the alleged rort

 

[PerthBrissy987]

isn't part of the alleged rort

Yeah it is ...

 

[Cult]

isn't part of the alleged rort

But they're saying it was signed off on by the NRL

 

[ivanhungryjak]

But they're saying it was signed off on by the NRL

I guess the question is whether what was signed off on was the reality?

 

[Morkel]

I guess the question is whether what was signed off on was the reality?

“Those boys are just mowin’ me lawns”.

How much are you paying them?

“$4,800 per hour. But Manly gives me $4,795 of that. They’re good to me like that. Them boys work real ‘ard”.

 

[Foordy]

But they're saying it was signed off on by the NRL

a) I believe it is the 81 year old granny saying it was registered with the NRL, besides even if it was, the Storm had all their stuff registered with the NRL, they were just different versions to reality

b) the NRL are incompetent, they could have had the evidence sitting right under their nose and still not find it until a whistleblower pointed it out to them.

this was 1000% one of those TPA's that has always needed to be included on the cap since it wouldn't be available to the players if they played for a rival team

 

[papabear]

Its one thing to have a totally separate sponsorship with say nike or whomever and another thing to have TPA's with the meat supplier to your leagues club or in the broncos case a thoroughbred business.

If the NRL ran a proper cap like in the american leagues, where everything was transparent then whatever success any clubs get it looks a lot cleaner.

As it stands, the storm, broncos, manly* dogs and chooks, arent really going to garner as much respect as otherwise from the rugby league community when they have such advantages...

* not that manly would ever get any anyways