Rogers:I play for the money

[Cronk7]

http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=598871

I love my job and I’m extremely grateful for everything I have. A lot of that is largely due to remuneration I have received from both rugby union and league. A lot also is due to the work I have put in to get me to where I am today. The game would definitely survive without Mat Rogers but would Mat Rogers survive without the game?

The answer is yes, I would. The facts are though I wouldn’t have the same lifestyle but I would survive. So the $64 million question is:

Do I play for love or money?

I play for money! Yes we all love the game and you have to, to endure the physical toll week in, week out. Would I do it for free? NO WAY! I’m sure there are people out there reading this thinking, 'oh my goodness he said it! He plays for the money - what a capitalist.' So while you’re thinking that ask yourself if you’d keep going to work if you stopped getting paid.

So Mark Gasnier took the cash and is heading to France... A few other guys are considering making the move for cash - Is there a solution? Is there even a problem? I’m not even sure a problem exists. Yet!

Mark Gasnier has earned the right to make whatever decision about his future he wants, be it staying at the Dragons go to France or retire. If the NRL wants to put something in place to stop situations like this popping up again in the future fantastic, but unfortunately it’s too late this time. It just seems too often that there is a mad, last minute scurry to prepare third party endorsement and the like to keep players. That is wrong. There needs to be a system.

Think about it for a second. Regardless of what industry you’re in, if you are at the top of your game you are going to get head-hunted. The best in their respective fields are often targeted by competitive organisations and the best get paid the most and why shouldn’t they! So why is it that when a rugby league player gets head-hunted by another code or even team that there is so much carry on about loyalty and players chasing money.

Mark Gasnier got head-hunted. That’s great. It means our game is still producing the best talent and I have no doubt will continue to do so. It’s in a healthy place. I haven’t heard of too many French rugby players being approached by NRL clubs.

Now does this mean we should bury our heads in the sand and pretend that it doesn’t matter that we lose some great players? No it doesn’t.

Does it mean however, we are admitting to having a problem if we take action to stop it?

The NRL should take some action purely to give the fans every chance to see the best players in the world staying here. I’d also say to nip it in the bud before it does become a problem. That is not necessarily going to work for all players as some are just looking for a lifestyle change but for most the cold hard reality of all this is one thing will do it and that is money.

What I do want is for my two boys - if they want - is to have the same opportunities I have had in the game here in Australia. Not to be playing here looking for the chance to go overseas like our soccer players do at the moment to make the real money. You would hate for our game to turn into a transit lounge.

I’m not an administrator of the game and I hate armchair critics but I think the NRL and David Gallop are doing a great job in trying economic times. I’m sure there are many solutions being bandied around in the boardroom to potentially combat the loss of our top players but in any case I’ll give you one of my thoughts.

A solution may be for the NRL to run a similar contractual situation as Cricket Australia where you have the top 20 or so players ranked 1 to 20 and they are obviously paid over and above their club contracts by the NRL. I’m not sure where the funding would come from in terms of the NRL finding the revenue to do this but I do have a few ideas. It definitely seems from the outside we could streamline our game at an administrative level. I’ve always wondered what the ARL actually do. Please don’t take this the wrong way; I’m sure they do something. It just seems there are administrators to administer administrators. I’m also sure if we don’t get with the times and move forward we are going to get gobbled up by AFL. Overseas clubs will be the least of our worries.

One thing about the AFL is they have one man surrounded by a great team of people and one organization calling the shots – from the kids aged five to the guys running around at the MCG every weekend. They are an absolute juggernaut and they are looking to totally dominate our sporting landscape and the way they are going about it, if they are not already it won’t be long.

This is not a doom and gloom column to say league's gone, far from it. The reality is though if we continually lose top players to overseas clubs and our product is diminished it could become a problem. Over time it will have a cascading effect through gate takings, TV rights and sponsorship dollars. This in turn will mean players get paid less and overseas clubs look even more attractive. The NRL need to put a system in place now.

He has a point,I wouldn't go to work if they stopped paying me.But if you're doing something you love,it isn't work.
Thoughts?

[mrpc]

I might turn out a few times a week, six months a year, for the love of the game.

I certainly would not turn out six days a week, eleven months a year, for any reason, without a worthwhile salary.

[nacho]

I might turn out a few times a week, six months a year, for the love of the game.

I certainly would not turn out six days a week, eleven months a year, for any reason, without a worthwhile salary.

for the love of the game i trained 5 times a week and played 2 times a week. if your passionate about something you make sacrifices

[mrpc]

if your passionate about something you make sacrifices

...for a year, or maybe two.  After that, you burn out, and move on to other things, unless there's something genuinely worth sticking around for.

[Tigger]

I might turn out a few times a week, six months a year, for the love of the game.

I certainly would not turn out six days a week, eleven months a year, for any reason, without a worthwhile salary.

for the love of the game i trained 5 times a week and played 2 times a week. if your passionate about something you make sacrifices

Nacho, you still live at home with your parents yeah?? And they would pay your living costs too I'm guessing......

Elite sports people who train five times a week and play at least one game a week need to have money to pay for the cost of living - they provide an entertainment factor to supporters and opportunities for sponsors, there is absolutely no reason they should not expect to be paid for that service. 

I'll bet if you were having to pay for your own living costs you'd want to get paid handsomely for providing others with massive revenue gain.

[nacho]

I might turn out a few times a week, six months a year, for the love of the game.

I certainly would not turn out six days a week, eleven months a year, for any reason, without a worthwhile salary.

for the love of the game i trained 5 times a week and played 2 times a week. if your passionate about something you make sacrifices

Nacho, you still live at home with your parents yeah?? And they would pay your living costs too I'm guessing......

Elite sports people who train five times a week and play at least one game a week need to have money to pay for the cost of living - they provide an entertainment factor to supporters and opportunities for sponsors, there is absolutely no reason they should not expect to be paid for that service. 

I'll bet if you were having to pay for your own living costs you'd want to get paid handsomely for providing others with massive revenue gain.

fair enough but they already get paid enough as it is, the average wage for an australian worker is $58448 per year, mat rogers is getting paid 300k a year which is $5769 per week, which is roughly 5 times what an average australian earns per week,

so to say that they have cost of living expenses which deems their high salary a necessity is rubbish i no the average salary for an australian is shocking but why do league players need the money so bad ; is thier cost of living 4-5 times more expensive than a normal persons, why dont they just economize? i think its because they recon they are hollywood type celebrities when their not, they are just sport athletes.

the entertainment value would be +$5,000 for 1 and a half hours work 1 day a week and they receive top class training which benefits them most of all in the long run.

also add on 3rd party deals (if they stil happen), sponsorships and sign on fees and u see how easy they really have it

stop complaining just play footy

[Tigger]

Nacho, did you notice I also said that others were getting massive revenue from elite sports people's performances?
Why should the people doing the work (ie. the players on the field) not be paid in kind for the revenue they raise?  Do you understand that the NRL is getting millions of dollars from our game and the players pay is a very small percentage of that money? 
There would be very few sainted people in the world who would punish their bodies every week and take the chance that they may not be able to actively participate in some form of their childrens lives (and I know a few guys who cannot run with/pick up/roughhouse with their kids because of ongoing pain from injuries sustained whilst playing AFL & NRL) without a good monetary incentive.
It is a job in the end, and each person has the right to get as much money as they can from their chosen career before they retire - and don't forget, most elite sports people have a limited 'career' in the end and not all go on to cushy jobs in the corporate world or tv.

[nacho]

don't forget, most elite sports people have a limited 'career' in the end and not all go on to cushy jobs in the corporate world or tv.

thats why they shouldn't rely on their sporting career for everything, in the past ive read about afl players becoming accountants in the off season and then in their retirement theyve done it full time, theres nothing stoping them getting a corperate job they should take the initiative and take a course in something even before they begin playing  .

There would be very few sainted people in the world who would punish their bodies every week and take the chance that they may not be able to actively participate in some form of their childrens lives (and I know a few guys who cannot run with/pick up/roughhouse with their kids because of ongoing pain from injuries sustained whilst playing AFL & NRL) without a good monetary incentive.

so i guess tradies and everyone who has some risk to their saftey should have money thrown at them? their job is to play the game, they cant justify getting hurt is a cause for massive salaries when they get top class treatment paid for by the club too.

It is a job in the end, and each person has the right to get as much money as they can from their chosen career before they retire

yeah they should get as much money as they can but thers a line between being entitled to that money and being greedy.
rogers, he has done nothing for the game and he is a talentless union reject - therefore he shouldnt be entitled to the money
gaz, overrated player havnt seen anything he has done to benefit the game he is turning his back on

hodgeson, steve menzies and geyer - they should recieve these big salaries , theyve been ther and done that and bought the t-shirt, they show true qualities and are loyal to clubs and dont jump ship for bigger cheques

just like in a corporate environment the more experienced workers should be rewarded more and not the young ones fresh in to the game because they will just want more and more .

Tigger, i dont mean to be having a go at you or anything but this topic of players wanting more money just aggravates me, like young players in u/20s , qld cup and premier league and even lower leagues would probably take less than half the money that most of the players receive just to play at the elite level and when players complain about the wage they recieve which is very good then id tell them to piss off if their not happy , beggers cant be choosers

[Surandy]

Nacho, I think you are missing the point. You ever heard the saying "you pay peanuts and you get monkeys"?

Elite sportspeople provide great entertainment value and our game is founded on elite players. A lot of these guys can demand much bigger pay elsewhere, ie Union or Super League, so if they all jumped ship what would we be left with? A second or third rate competition. Would you (or your parents) be as willing to pay as much to watch a 2nd or 3rd rate competition?

Put it in perspective, if you studied to be an accountant and were that good at it you were in the top 5% in Australia at accountancy would you accept $40 or $50k per annum when your ability could get you $100k+ as well as a company car, mobile phone and other perks? What if you skills could bring in additional work for your employer so they were raking in an extra millions per year, wouldn't you want recognition of your skills?

Why should Colin Love get the money he is on? Including the nice little bonus he gave himself for "organising" this year's World Cup?

As for Rogers and Gasnier, both were great RL players at the peak of their careers (which in my opinion was in the past).

[Cronk7]

Ive opened a can of worms!

[nacho]

Nacho, I think you are missing the point. You ever heard the saying "you pay peanuts and you get monkeys"?

Elite sportspeople provide great entertainment value and our game is founded on elite players. A lot of these guys can demand much bigger pay elsewhere, ie Union or Super League, so if they all jumped ship what would we be left with? A second or third rate competition. Would you (or your parents) be as willing to pay as much to watch a 2nd or 3rd rate competition?

Put it in perspective, if you studied to be an accountant and were that good at it you were in the top 5% in Australia at accountancy would you accept $40 or $50k per annum when your ability could get you $100k+ as well as a company car, mobile phone and other perks? What if you skills could bring in additional work for your employer so they were raking in an extra millions per year, wouldn't you want recognition of your skills?

Why should Colin Love get the money he is on? Including the nice little bonus he gave himself for "organising" this year's World Cup?

As for Rogers and Gasnier, both were great RL players at the peak of their careers (which in my opinion was in the past).

ok, ok you got me there

but most of the nrl players dont deserve what they are getting.
like izzy, sure hes great and is the future but hes only as good as the people around him and cant offer that entertainment value with out getting perfect kicks given to him.

[Tigger]

One other thing nacho is that the AFL & NRL guys (and heaps of other elite sports people too) do not have a real off season any more.  It's a full time job doing what they do, sure they get holidays over the 'off season' but they still need to keep their bodies in good condition during that time.
Yes, lots of players study part-time for their lives after sport but again, most of them would not earn half as much as they did during their playing days.

I and a few other people here have a bit of an insight as to how things work in elite sports clubs - it's very easy to make judgements when you don't know how things really work.  That's not having a go at you, but I believe players of the game deserve a bigger slice of the pie that they produce.

[Buzz]

Just thought I'd tip in my couple of cents to the argument.

1. Sport is, and should be, different

Playing sport is more than just recreational, and playing elite sport is more than just a job. Sport (any flavour of it) is about passion, and representation. No matter what level of sport you might play, you play for a team, for the others in the team, and for the logo identifying your clan. It is very much the passion that drives you to not duck your head, to strive that little harder, to play on when you've cramped. The paycheque isn't what keeps you on the field after the siren starts.

As such, sport should be held above the workplace comparison. Our elite sports in Australia are lucky enough to be able to afford to pay their players substantial wages. In recognition of their skills and abilities, and in representation of the affection the game holds for the players. Unfortunately, that ability to pay wages doesn't extend to some like the Netball.

2. Playing for the money.

If you're playing for the money, you won't last long. Just like any job, if you're only there for the money, you're only putting in your bare minimum to ensure that you don't get the ass. You turn up on the stroke of 9am, and you leave at 5pm. When the boss isn't looking, you're slacking off. I've seen it - I've done it. When I had a job I didn't like, I put the brakes on. You might say that the motivation of players is to get that next contract, that next endorsement, that next payrise. In that case, every player would be on 1 year contracts, and solely performance based. I do not believe any player that has lasted 3 years in an elite competition would play only for the money.

3. The Collapse of the sport

When free agency plays a part in a sporting competition, where players auction themselves off for the highest value, you end up with an elite group of players, but not a team. Players wouldn't be playing for the team, but for their next contract. It's always easy to spot the selfish players, the ones who don't pass to the winger etc. In a sport filled with free agents, getting a player to pass to another would almost be impossible. Fans would drop off in droves. I honestly can't see myself supporting a team which had less collective passion than myself. Why would I bother to hand over my hard earned to a club spending millions to attract the best heartless automatons who stick around for a few games then move onto the next paycheque.

4. Players have a short career

Yes, some are lucky and will reach the lengths of a Menzies, or Geyer. Long time stalwarts of their club. Some might be on the roster for a year and never play a first grade game! How is that different from any other career? A doctor spends years at university under more hardship than our sports stars and with more pressure. And if they flunk out of the course before the end, no pay! A junior level player in the NRL is guaranteed an income.

The thing that irrits me the most with this argument is that the average career of the average Aussie has dropped significantly, from decades to months. I know that before my current vocation, I didn't keep a position more than 15-18 months. Why can't I walk into a workplace and say I'm only going to be here for 2 years - how about you pay me 5 times the average income because of the shortness of my career?

I've brought this up before - it is absolutely ridiculous that we pay our Prime Minister less than half of what the top line Rugby League players earn. Most RL players will earn more than the Prime Minister. Tell me who has the harder job? It's rare for a PM to exceed a decade in the job.

5. In summary

Elite sports players are in the rare opportunity to enjoy high wages, full time training and support, and the best conditions of any of their predecessors.  The game is currently earning somewhere around the 100 million per year in broadcast rights (I stand to be corrected on that figure). The current salary cap is over $4 million per team. That's over $65 million just in pay to the players.

Anyway - if I know a player is only after the money, I can't help but have a sour taste in the mouth. It's a blight on the game if that's their motivation. The last thing this society needs is the kids of tomorrow idolising the players of today based on their wages. It's wrong I tells ya.