NRL must look at TPA disparity: Bennett

Forget the NRL’s war chest for Greg Inglis – Wayne Bennett hopes a league priority is addressing the “great disparity” of third party agreements (TPAs) that he believes makes a mockery of the salary cap.

NRL boss Dave Smith is expected to dip into his player retention fund in order to keep Inglis in the game after speculation mounted that the South Sydney captain would re-evaluate his future at season’s end.

But Bennett wondered why there was the need for a war chest while clubs were armed with TPAs that allow uncapped payments to players outside the official $6.3 million salary cap.

“You are missing the point with it all. The great disparity is the third party agreements,” he said on Thursday.

“The salary cap worked magnificently for nearly a decade because there were no third party agreements.

“If you said to me back then if we should have a war chest I would have said `yes’.”

But Bennett added: “Some clubs have got them (TPAs) and some clubs haven’t.

“It’s a waste of time talking about the salary cap because it is not equal any more.”

The NRL has no cap on TPAs which represents payments from a non-club sponsor.

It’s a task some clubs like one team town Brisbane, the well connected Sydney Roosters and a leagues club rich Bulldogs find easier to complete than others.

However, financially weaker clubs risk diverting much needed sponsorship dollars by securing TPAs for big name players.

Bennett said TPAs ensured the salary cap was “not equal” and hoped the NRL addressed the issue sooner rather than later.

“It needs to be looked at a lot harder than it has been,” he said.

“People keep talking about what the salary cap is supposed to be doing for the game, but if I have an unlimited amount to spend and someone else hasn’t got that amount then it’s not equal.”

Bennett wondered aloud how much money players needed to stay in the game when asked about the war chest available for Inglis, who has been inundated by lucrative offers from European rugby and league clubs.

“I don’t know how much more money these guys want,” he said.

“They’ve unlimited third party (deals), they’ve got a salary cap as high as it has ever been, players are being paid over a million dollars a year.

“So I don’t know how much the war chest is going to be.

“What are we going to open up the Commonwealth Bank?”

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