A situation like this should be one in, all in.
If the game takes a hit and you're a player on $80,000 or $120,000, you've got to take your hit like everybody else.
I am not in favour of staggering pay cuts depending on what players earn, a possible option for the NRL and RLPA amid the coronavirus shutdown that takes a higher percentage away from top players.
You're paid what you're worth to the game. Why should Cameron Smith, Daly Cherry-Evans or Wade Graham get a 75 per cent pay reduction and someone on $120,000 per year doesn't have to cop anything?
People might say that they earn more money, but they've also paid their dues. They've been in the game longer and built better careers.
These guys on $80,000 to $120,000 are players No.25-30 on your roster. Or young guys trying to prove themselves and if they're any good, they're on that wage for just one year before being upgraded and extended; or picked up by another club for twice the money.
Cameron Smith's possibly got just one season left in the game. He could retire this year, while that bloke on $120,000 may have 10 years left.
After 20 years at the top of rugby league, Cameron doesn't deserve to lose 75 per cent of his income when a player on $120,000 might lose nothing, or significantly less. I do feel sorry for the bigger names in the game who are the heroes to kids, who are the faces of our game and rightly on good contracts, yet could have most of it taken away this year.
I hear people saying, 'Those guys are on plenty', but you live to your means. They have families - kids, wives, partners. No doubt they've geared themselves, in terms of mortgages and other expenses, relative to their wage; like every other person in the world.
If they've worked hard to get to the top of the NRL and they suddenly lose it, when other players are copping a lesser percentage, that's not fair. It should be the same across the board, all in it together.
If you're on minimum wage, it's because that's your contribution to the game and your club. The kids aren't talking about players No.25-30 in a squad. These aren't the guys earning the game huge revenue through things like State of Origin.
That may sound harsh or nasty, but that's just a fact. I think there are probably too many blokes out there at the moment just trying to be politically correct and do the right thing.
For the fringe players in a squad, their main contribution is just to be at training. If not for how much scrimmage was done, opposed contact work with live targets, you could have less players in an NRL squad anyway. You virtually need two teams at training, which is 26 players already plus a few more for interchange and covering injuries.
Hopefully one day player No.25-30 becomes a big name, a player that kids know, an important part of the team and the game who earns a bigger wage. If not, he stays on $80,000 to $120,000, because that's what he's worth to rugby league.
That's just the way life works. This could all be much worse than pay cuts. In the rest of the world, many people are losing jobs; including staff within NRL clubs. Lower-paid NRL players might also be able to access help through the government, or other avenues in rugby league.
Unfortunately, life throws up terrible situations sometimes and you've just got to deal with it.
V'LANDYS THE LEADER WE NEED, AS CUTS LOOM
When Peter V'landys raised the prospect of a massive government cash bailout for rugby league right from the outset, I was a bit floored.
We could see that people were dying all around the world and here he was straight-up asking the government for money.
But that was before we knew just how bad this was going to be for rugby league. And perhaps it was before we understood how V'landys operates.
He's adamant about what he wants and says what he thinks. I've got to respect that.
If you ever want to go to battle with someone, you'd go to battle with Peter V'landys. You know he'd have your back. That he was doing everything in his power to get you the right outcome.
He's taking that bullish attitude and doing everything that he possibly can for rugby league. He wants our game to get back on the field. If not, he wants to make sure it can survive.
He doesn't seem too worried about treading on toes along the way, he's just doing what he thinks is right, with the game's best interests at heart. As a fan and former player, I think we should be impressed.
When your survival is at stake, it's not the time for political correctness. We've seen that from some players and other people within the game, to be honest.
There will need to be plenty of hard conversations going forward. We are going to see some massive changes in rugby league.
For starters, look at the NRL. There are people everywhere in head office. Operating costs have been reported at $500,000 per day.
Staff at the NRL could be dramatically reduced. I think that will be the first port of call for V'landys when it comes to cost cutting.
I take my hat off to Todd Greenberg, for taking leave without pay for the moment. Leadership starts at the top and the chief executive deserves credit.
Then there's the clubs. Some run to a fairly modest football department budget, while the richer clubs seem to have plenty of extra staff. Even those rich clubs like Brisbane have acknowledged that they're fighting for survival.
An NRL team needs a head coach and two assistants. A full-time physio. A head of performance. You could get away with a strength and conditioning coach, rather than a person for each role. Two trainers, blue shirt and orange shirt. Perhaps a couple of other staff, depending on a certain team's needs.
It's become a big group around teams, but you need those staffers I've just mentioned if you want to keep the game at the level of professionalism we've reached. Cutbacks there would be detrimental to the game.
Richer clubs may have full-time massage therapists, sports scientists, GPS analysts, video anaylysts, even drone operators. More physios, more support staff. Maybe those are the areas that get cut back.
Cuts will be felt everywhere. This could change the NRL for a long time.
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/paul-gallen-column-pay-cut-suggestion-wrong-peter-vlandys-leadership/54868e90-ee31-4ae4-8894-09e54192c5d0
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