L
Levo
Guest
Have I been asleep? A new salary cap of $A4.4 million (?) a year has been officially introduced by the ARU to control the finances of the 5 Australian franchises. I also believe it is going to be reduced further in 2013/2014 to A$4.1 m per annum.
This issue of a salary cap has not been talked about in the press, apart from a few articles where it was "proposed".
I personally am not a fan of salary caps, because I feel they are verging on illegal and being a restraint of trade. When an individual pays to see a professional sportsperson, the price of the ticket should reflect the level of professionalism, like in Formula 1, soccer, golf, or tennis. I expect the market forces to be at work and the professional sportsman is getting the market value for his skills. The more money they receive, is usually a refection of how in demand they are. These sports people also attract large and lucrative sponsorships.
Rugby is an international game. Any decision for introducing operating parameters should be based on what is happening with the international competition. There are salary caps in the UK and France. The salary cap in the UK is currently A$6.25 million per annum, and France at A$14 million. These caps are quoted when the Aussie Dollar is strong. If the Aussie Dollar weaken again, then the European salary cap figures will look more like A$10 million in the UK and A$19 million in France.
If a salary cap is required in the short term then the dollar amount should be increased to match our competitors.
Australian Rugby needs to attract more money. The Rebels model being the privately owned Harold Mitchell's consortium seems to be working with a strong mixture of players, management and money.
I personally do not want to see the Super 15 become an inferior competition to the competitions in the UK and France.
The ARU should be a bit more imaginative. I would like the Super 15 vision, and the Australian teams to be at the top of their game playing in a rich and successful competition, watching the best players, being coached by the best coaches, in front of full stadiums, and large TV audiences.
Finally, how is Australian Rugby going to get its best playing combinations right. I would like to see a Genia, Cooper and O'Connor and Beale playing combination every week. This would be the new standard for the spur for the other Australian teams to find palyers and combinations to compete. The idea is very exciting. This I feel is not going to happen for A$4.4 million a year spread over 30 players.
This issue of a salary cap has not been talked about in the press, apart from a few articles where it was "proposed".
I personally am not a fan of salary caps, because I feel they are verging on illegal and being a restraint of trade. When an individual pays to see a professional sportsperson, the price of the ticket should reflect the level of professionalism, like in Formula 1, soccer, golf, or tennis. I expect the market forces to be at work and the professional sportsman is getting the market value for his skills. The more money they receive, is usually a refection of how in demand they are. These sports people also attract large and lucrative sponsorships.
Rugby is an international game. Any decision for introducing operating parameters should be based on what is happening with the international competition. There are salary caps in the UK and France. The salary cap in the UK is currently A$6.25 million per annum, and France at A$14 million. These caps are quoted when the Aussie Dollar is strong. If the Aussie Dollar weaken again, then the European salary cap figures will look more like A$10 million in the UK and A$19 million in France.
If a salary cap is required in the short term then the dollar amount should be increased to match our competitors.
Australian Rugby needs to attract more money. The Rebels model being the privately owned Harold Mitchell's consortium seems to be working with a strong mixture of players, management and money.
I personally do not want to see the Super 15 become an inferior competition to the competitions in the UK and France.
The ARU should be a bit more imaginative. I would like the Super 15 vision, and the Australian teams to be at the top of their game playing in a rich and successful competition, watching the best players, being coached by the best coaches, in front of full stadiums, and large TV audiences.
Finally, how is Australian Rugby going to get its best playing combinations right. I would like to see a Genia, Cooper and O'Connor and Beale playing combination every week. This would be the new standard for the spur for the other Australian teams to find palyers and combinations to compete. The idea is very exciting. This I feel is not going to happen for A$4.4 million a year spread over 30 players.
