NRL players agree to 6% cut

RUGBY LEAGUE

SYDNEY: The NRL's salary cap will be reduced to $A9.02 million ($NZ9.75 million) this year after players agreed to a 6% pay cut for the next two seasons.

The Rugby League Players Association and NRL finally ended six months of negotiations yesterday, as part of the game's longterm response to the Covid19 pandemic.

The key part of the deal will drop the cap from $A9.6 million to $A9.024 million for 2021, and then from $A9.7 million to $A9.11 million for next year.

That is seen as a win for the players, as a 10% drop was mooted early in the negotiations.

Roster sizes will also still remain at 30, with a minimum of an additional three development players, after several models had that main number reducing. However, it has come at a cost, after the game took an eightfigure hit due to the Covid19 pandemic.

State of Origin payments have slashed by 50% from $A30,000 to $A15,000 per game.

Other entitlements are also believed to have taken a far bigger hit than just 6%, including hardship funds and the player retirement account.

``The deal is a fair reflection of the value the players bring to our game and the sacrifices they are prepared to make to ensure we remain strong in the years ahead,'' NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said.

Players were forced to take a 20% pay cut to their annual salary in 2020, meaning they were paid just 52% of their usual wage during the final five months of the season.