GPA to receive extra €339k under deal with GAA

THE Gaelic Players Association are entitled to an extra €339k from the GAA from 2018 under the terms of the partnership agreement signed in 2016 which gives the inter-county players representative body a 15 per cent cut of commercial revenue as the bulk of their core funding.

As gate receipts fell badly due to a variety of reasons in 2018, commercial revenue soared from €17.34m to €19.6m, a rise of €2.26m to help bring GAA revenues close to 2017 figures.

When the GAA and GPA reached a three-year agreement to cover 2017 to 2019, one of the strands for funding was 15 per cent of commercial revenues or €2.5m, whichever was the higher figure.

The GPA’s 15pc of commercial revenues, which covers broadcast, sponsorship, franchising and licensing, was worth €2.6m on 2017 figures but rises to €2.94m on 2018 figures, in line with the agreement.

Because both years exceeded the €2.5m baseline, in accordance with the agreement the higher figure applies.

When the 2016 agreement was signed off, the headline figure attached was €6.2m, based on the €2.5m minimum core funding – an extra €800,000 guaranteed for player services, €200,000 for surgical interventions for past players and a maximum €1.5m for additional mileage expenses to cover the rise from 50c per mile to between 62.5c and 65c per mile and €1.2m in nutrition allowances.

The mileage and nutrition allowances are paid directly to individual county boards by Croke Park and GAA officials consider this to be player-related rather than GAA-related funding.

In his annual report, published last week, director-general Tom Ryan referenced as odd how higher amounts are often attributed to the GAA’s contribution to the GPA, stating that the contribution was €3.5m in 2018.