League’s growing despite cash fall
NRL CEO Todd Greenberg has denied the game is broke after he announced the league had posted a deficit for a third consecutive year.
Following a year when the code increased spending on player welfare, community, football and grassroots, the game posted an overall shortfall of $ 3.7 million.
This was despite a $ 2.7 million increase in grants to clubs and states, plus a $ 700,000 increase in spending on integrity.
Greenberg said the game would return a strong surplus next year of close to $ 40 million.
“So any suggestion that we are broke could not be further from the truth,” he said. “Back in 2012 the NRL’s business was a $ 180 million turnover business.
“( Now) it’s $ 350 million odd and this year … we will break half- a- billion dollars in revenue.
“What that tells you is the game is heading in the right direction. We are continuing to grow our revenues on the back of two things – healthy broadcast deals and strong focus and discipline around our non- broadcast revenue, which is set to reach $ 150 million for the first time in 2018, and our cost base.
“We’ve also made great commitments to clubs, players, the states and grassroots.
“The game is being really well managed financially and the distributions are bigger and better than ever.”
Greenberg says there will be no bailouts for cash- strapped clubs.
The NRL has previously propped up clubs like Newcastle, St George Illawarra and the Wests Tigers.
However, Greenberg insists the era of extra cash for clubs is over and said the emphasis was on the 16 teams to be financially stable.
“It won’t happen,” he said. “The reason it won’t happen is because it can’t happen.
“We actually don’t have the money put aside to prop a club up. But the numbers suggest they’ve now got enough money to sustain themselves.
“If they run smart, effective and efficient business models, we should have 16 strong clubs.”
Greenberg said the NRL had set up a distress club fund to cover any teams falling on tough financial times. “But that is now in the hands of clubs,” he said.
He said clubs would pay a portion of their grants to the fund on an annual basis as security should they ever require financial assistance.
“That’s their insurance fund if one of them falls over,” he said.
“The clubs can apply to that fund to help them.
“But we won’t be helping them, because we don’t have money in the centre to pop the clubs up again.
“It will be a very different discussion again if a club gets into financial trouble and that has been very well communicated.”