NRL clubs are on the warpath and firmly in their sights is the November 1 transfer rule.
The biggest supporter of the rule, RLPA boss Clint Newton has brought the issue to a head himself.
He angered many when he defended the rule as fallout around the Lachie Galvin exit from the Wests Tigers dominated headlines for weeks.
A fortnight ago, Newton yet again rejected a trade window, saying the bigger issue was clubs dumping players it didn’t want.
His comments went flying around NRL club CEO chat groups.
He said: “What is more concerning is players are shoulder-tapped and told to leave the club at a far greater rate than players are legally securing their futures, yet shoulder-tapping rarely gets a mention in the media.”
Let’s pull that rubbish to pieces bit by bit.
Contract chaos .… Ben Hunt, Lachlan Galvin, Josh Addo-Carr, Terrell May.Credit: Getty Images
For starters, when a player is ‘shoulder-tapped’ their contract amounts are protected by the NRL, which ensures they are not short-changed when they join a rival club. They’re not punted and left on the breadline. They’re guaranteed the same money.
The scenario mightn’t be ideal, but the legal protection is greatly in the player’s favour.
When a player wants out 18 months early, as Galvin did, he suddenly goes from the $250,000 he is on this year and $350,000 next year to $750,000.
The club is not protected in that instance when they identify and sign a teenager with potential.
It’s a one-way street.
Rugby League Players Association boss Clint Newton.Credit: Rhett Wyman
Newton talks about players “legally protecting their futures”. Clubs can do that too Clint.
He’s hiding behind legalities. The truth is, the rule is widely open to manipulation – and the Galvin case proved it.
Start agitating, keep agitating, make it untenable, it becomes headlines, the matter comes to a head and then, bang, the player is gone to a rival club a full 17 months before his contract ends. It stinks.
Three-year deals become volatile at the start of the second year in a never-ending merry-go-round.
He says clubs “shoulder-tapping players rarely gets a mention in the media”. Newton mustn’t read nor own a radio or TV.
Here are some players who’ve been “shoulder-tapped” recently – Terrell May (Roosters), Josh Addo-Carr (Bulldogs); Brandon Smith (Roosters) and Ben Hunt (Dragons).
All received widespread media attention. In May’s case, his weird exit from the Roosters on the basis he’s a “weird cat” still is.
What’s Newton talking about? As said earlier, he’s talking rubbish and it’s a deflection.
In the acrimonious 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement, proposed changes to the November 1 rule fell by the wayside as other issues held sway.
The clubs saw it as a missed opportunity and are banding together to present a better case next time around.
The current CBA ends at the completion of the 2027 season, at the same time the current TV rights deal ends. A new rights deal for 2028 and beyond will be in place sooner than later.
With more money meaning a higher salary cap, a new round of CBA negotiations will take place well before the end of 2027.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo is currently assembling a collection of league heavyweights to form a committee to tackle many issues facing the game.
The committee will include a selection of club CEOs, chairs and football managers as well as other influential figures.
‘Start agitating, keep agitating, make it untenable, it becomes headlines, the matter comes to a head and then, bang, the player is gone’
At the head of the agenda is a new player transfer plan to replace the November 1 rule. The committee will also look at the salary cap and rules in general.
Any spike in the cap off the back of the rights deal must go hand-in-hand with the scrapping of November 1. It must be a non-negotiable.
In 2023, the NRL’s preferred transfer model it took into the CBA negotiations was broken down into two parts.
Firstly, players in the final year of their NRL playing contract could not enter into a deal with a rival club until after June 30 of the final year of the contract, unless granted special written permission by the current club.
Secondly, there would be two contract windows for players not in their final year.
Window 1 would be from November 1 until the first round of the next season, where players could negotiate a release with their incumbent club and join a rival club immediately for the coming season. It would include players with multiple years left on their deal.
In other words, an immediate transfer.
Window two allows for in-season transfers. It would begin after round ten and conclude on June 30. Short and sharp.
Abdo’s committee will refine that plan. There is a genuine determination in club land to get transfers right and that the next CBA will not end with the current November 1 rule in place.
Newton will have to accept the fact players have the capacity to change clubs without needing a year to cope with the move.
Like normal people do every day.
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