As NRL clubs sweat on a new broadcast deal for the game, Brisbane boss Paul White has warned they will have to “live with less” in future to win the fight for survival.
The league’s finances are up in the air as they strive to strike an agreement with Nine and Foxtel for the coronavirus-hit, shortened 2020 season amid reports the NRL faces a $60-million drop in broadcast revenue.
Both broadcast partners are seeking a discount to their rights fees due to the reduced rounds and potential of empty stadiums.
As a result, clubs face an anxious wait for the game to unveil its financial distribution model for the rest of the year as they prepare for the May 28 re-start.
Broncos CEO White conceded the game would “look different” as clubs tried to rebuild from the coronavirus shutdown’s financial hit.
“We are going to have to learn to live with a bit less. I have no doubt about that, and rebuild again,” he said.
“The game is going to look different. Right now all clubs in our game are in a fight for survival.”
White would not speculate on the potential impact to the salary cap or the collective bargaining agreement, but believed they would know by year’s end.
“At the conclusion of the season we will know what we have got. Right now we don’t have a broadcast rights deal done for this season,” he said.
“Everything is commensurate with what is coming into the game.
“If there is not the same amount of money coming into the game the CBA is going to look different and the structure of clubs is going to have to look different.”
White said ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys and interim NRL CEO Andrew Abdo faced a tough challenge but backed them to ensure the game survives – albeit with potentially dramatic changes next year.
“Peter V’landys and Andrew have a lot of work in front of them,” he said.
“But the clubs are all united and understand that whatever happens at the back end of this year.
“Whether it be a different CBA, different football department cap or different structures, the game is going to look different to what it already does.
“We are very confident the game has a fair chance of coming through this in reasonably good shape.”
