Clubs back players to agree to NRL cap

NRL club powerbrokers are confident the Rugby League Players Association will take up the offer of a $9.4 million salary cap for next season.

RLPA bosses will meet with the NRL on Friday to view the proposed package – along with the finalised Collective Bargaining Agreement – which has taken the best part of a year to solve.

That will then be passed onto the players in a meeting at Homebush next Monday, who will make a decision on whether to agree to the deal.

While the $9.4m offer for next year’s squads will likely be viewed favourably by the players, they must also be satisfied with a number of other player benefits before signing off on the CBA.

However club bosses left a high-powered Thursday meeting with the NRL confident a deal would be struck with the RLPA, and the long-running feud would be over.

“It’s a massive win for the players,” Brisbane chairman Dennis Watt said.

“The hope is that they will (accept the deal).

“I would be pretty excited if I was a top-30 player playing in the NRL now.”

Parramatta chief executive Bernie Gurr was also clear in his support to raise the cap from the $7.1 million figure for 2016.

“It’s good for the players,” he said.

“They will get a significant increase and they’re entitled to share in an appropriate share of the game’s funds”

The eventual proposal agreed upon by the league and the clubs on Thursday is made up of a $9.2 million base cap, which is inclusive of $100,000 motor vehicle allowance.

An additional $200,000 is available for veterans who have been at clubs for eight or more years, or development players who are under the age of 22 and have spent at least two years outside the club’s top 30, before joining their main squad.

The eventual total figure of $9.4 million is halfway between the requested $9.2 million of clubs with room to move, and the $9.6 million request by clubs who are strapped for cash in next year’s cap.

However after an NRL presentation and open-floor discussion on Thursday, each of the 16 clubs voted unanimously to support the $9.4 million figure.

“I think everyone has put their best foot forward in the interest of the game and its fans,” South Sydney chairman Nick Pappas said.

“We’re going to have a pretty happy player group on Monday.

“It’s definitely the best the game can do. Everyone recognised that, everyone was happy to give away a bit more to get the deal across the line.

“It’s as unified as I’ve ever seen the game, and I’ve been here a long time.”

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