Cap fits well for league
Second-tier ISC set for radical structure changes
THE Intrust Super Cup will implement a $500,000 salary cap for the 2019 season after the concept and figure was given the green light by powerbrokers.
A salary cap has been a prominent talking point in the Queensland state league for years and will be an extension on the maximum player payment system used this season.
Individual player payments were capped at $35,000 for 2018, plus an additional $5000 vocational and/or medical allowance.
A similar player rule will be carried forward but now with an overall cap per team.
The Queensland Rugby League will bring in a compliance officer to police contracts, though any team found to be spending more than the half-million dollar limit will be hit with a different form of penalty to fines or loss of competition points.
“Anyone who spends over that will lose the capacity to be able to apply for a sustainability fund which can be for facility upgrades or anything along those lines,” said QRL manager of major competitions Dave Maiden.
“So it’s a way to help the clubs that are not going to be able to spend that amount and help them to make sure that they are up to scratch in facilities and governance and human resources.”
Clubs such as Redcliffe and Townsville are well-known to sit at the top end of the re“We source spectrum, while the battlers tag falls to the likes of Tweed Heads.
However, Maiden stressed the system was not about punishing successful teams but rather protecting the longterm future of clubs.
“They have done the planning and the foresight to put themselves in the position that they are in now so we don’t want to restrict that,” he said.
want our clubs to aspire to be able to spend that money and we certainly want to encourage them to be able to get up to that standard.
“Do we need a salary cap for player equalisation? No we don’t, we have had 12 different winners in 15 years.
“What we do need it for is the financial sustainability and viability of our clubs.”
In ISC action this weekend, Tweed face Easts at Suzuki Stadium today while Burleigh tomorrow host Wynnum.