The player point system needs to replace the salary cap

[Vlasnik]

The recent signing of Sonny Bill Williams to the Sydney Roosters has sparked an outcry of unfairness and controversy among supporters of the game.

Although he is unarguably a great marketing tool for the NRL, the point of contention here for anyone other than an Easts supporter is how such an established superstar, dual-international in both league and union, can be valued at $400,000 a season.

I’m all for the NRL pulling whatever strings they can to sign the best rugby players in the world to maintain their status as the greatest rugby competition in the world, but the current salary cap system limits this ambition.

This is where a revamp of the system needs to happen – a proposal in which the NRL takes carriage of player contracts and implements a points-based system in its place.

Here’s how it will work:

Player salaries
As stated, player contracts will be centralised to the NRL body, meaning clubs will no longer manage a salary cap for their 30-man squads.

The NRL will determine the prices of every player dependent on their representative experience, first-grade experience in NRL and ESL, age, position, injury history, as well as other extenuating factors.

The current allocated salary cap amounts for clubs would revert back to the NRL, meaning the NRL can use this $160 million to pay their 400 contracted players. This amount would now just work as a guide for player salary expenditure rather than a set cap.


Furthermore, loosening restrictions on sponsorships and third-party agreements would further assist the NRL in signing and retaining the world’s best players and strengthen the competition by allowing players open opportunities to make as much money they can during their football careers. After all, the average career length for a first-grader is around 40 games.

Ultimately, the abolishment of clubs managing player salaries would provide the NRL body with much more power in the player market. But despite there being much more leeway for the NRL in managing player salaries, it is a necessary change when it goes hand-in-hand with the following proposed player point system (PPS).

Player points system (PPS)
The PPS would act as each NRL club’s new ‘cap’ and would be heavily based around a player’s representative and first-grade experience rather than the club salary.

Clubs will be able to manage their PPS under the following guidelines:

Club points allocation
1350 points per team (squad of 30 players)

Individual player points criteria
80 points: 200 or more first-grade games (inclusive of NRL and ESL);

70 points: 150-199 first-grade games;


60 points: 100-149 first-grade games;

50 points: 75-99 first-grade games;

40 points: 50-74 first-grade games;

30 points: 21-49 first-grade games;

20 points: 1-20 first-grade games;

10 points: No first-grade experience.

Representative points criteria
Applies to players who have participated in representative football within the past three years, and only the most relevant one applies:

Extra 20 points: Tier-one international representation (Australia, New Zealand or England)


Extra 10 points: State of origin representation


Extra 5 points: Tier-two international representation (any nation besides tier-one)
Discounts
Minus 5 points: Per fifty games played for the same club.

Minus 5 points: For each local junior playing at their club.
PPS guidelines
Player points are calculated and allocated at the commencement of each player contract and are reviewed after contract expiry or after two years whether the contract has expired or not, whichever comes first. Effectively, clubs can still determine the length of contract for a player but will need to take these systematic changes into account.
Squads of 30 must be finalised by June 30th, with no minimum spend of player points required.
Clubs will incur point penalties if they decide to terminate a player under contract. The penalty would be covering a portion of that player’s points for another team to use him, making him a cheap buy – similarly, a player will cost more points if the individual is at-fault for breaching their contract rather than affect the club’s points. Other points penalties could stem from withholding players participating in representative football for no reasonable excuse.

PPS 2020 NRL squad analysis

The following is what each club’s 30-man squad would cost for the 2020 season, inclusive of representative points but omitting discounts:
Raiders: 1725
Roosters: 1560
Storm: 1500
Eels: 1415
Sharks: 1400
Bulldogs: 1395
Knights: 1385
Broncos: 1350
Warriors: 1340
Tigers: 1340
Titans: 1335
Dragons: 1300
Cowboys: 1295
Rabbitohs: 1290
Sea Eagles: 1250
Panthers: 1125

The average for player points between NRL clubs is 1380. Again, this is without taking into account the junior and one-club loyalty discounts, therefore I believe a PPS cap of 1350 points (average 45 points per player) is very manageable for clubs.

Looking at the above data, the Penrith Panthers have the lowest PPS score, yet are currently topping the NRL ladder. What is interesting is their squad is riddled with Penrith juniors, meaning their club would benefit greatly from the discount criteria. Teams such as the Storm and Roosters who aren’t renowned for home-grown talent would struggle to enable this discount.

(Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

When analysing the Storm and Roosters, as well as the Raiders, these clubs have the highest point amounts. It is notable that their squads are riddled with international talent and first-grade experience so the PPS would effectively spread that talent around. I don’t think it is any coincidence that their clubs are currently in the top eight and vying for a solid chance at winning this year’s premiership.

But going back to the crux of this article, the PPS needs to be implemented for fairness purposes. So, let’s take Sonny Bill Williams for example: he played 123 first-grade games for Bulldogs (73), Roosters (45) and Toronto Wolfpack (5), no representative rugby league in past three years and has just signed back up with the Sydney Roosters for the remainder of the 2020 NRL season.

If the PPS system was currently in effect, Williams would cost the Roosters 60 player points so I highly doubt they would have had any chance of signing him as they have under the salary cap system. This in itself was controversial, to say the least, with the price that was set: the PPS would have squashed this issue as player salary is not a worry for clubs.

The PPS idea would indeed have its flaws, but removing salary cap control from NRL clubs would shift their focus to managing players under the PPS only and allow the NRL body to worry about salaries. This in-turn removes financial headaches for clubs and would undoubtedly spread playing talent across the NRL clubs, making the system a lot fairer and transparent than the one currently in place.

Furthermore, the PPS would hugely benefit the clubs appropriately nursing their junior systems and would inevitably encourage those clubs that don’t to start investing more funds into their grassroots programs. This ultimately provides incentives for clubs and players to remain loyal to one another – something each supporter definitely appreciates despite sport becoming a business.

https://www.theroar.com.au/2020/08/...s-to-replace-the-salary-cap/#comments-section

 

[Alan79]

I didn't read the whole thing. But the simple fact that under this system our team is rated at 6 on the points system tells me this idea isn't a great representation of the talent in squads. I look at the simple fact that someone like Aaron Woods has played a fair amount of rep football and a lot of games. Yet if it came down to signing an up and coming aggressive forward with a smart offload or Woods, I know that Woods wouldn't cross my mind for more than a few seconds.

The salary cap is definitely not working. That's painfully obvious.

 

[Rodzilla]

the player points system is shit and gives more control on who wins

 

[GA45]

the player points system is shit and gives more control on who wins

And the Salary Cap isn’t?

 

[KambahOne]

Not really sure what the OP is trying to say in this post? You want a points system that will value players, but below you want to loosen TPA's?

"Furthermore, loosening restrictions on sponsorships and third-party agreements would further assist the NRL in signing and retaining the world’s best players and strengthen the competition by allowing players open opportunities to make as much money they can during their football careers. After all, the average career length for a first-grader is around 40 games."

And I might call into question some of your data?

 

[Roll the Bones]

The salary cap was introduced so supposedly every team had a somewhat fair chance of being competitive and making finals etc, but realistically, every year there are only 3 or 4 clubs who have a shot at the title, with maybe 1 or 2 smokey’s who punch above their weight thrown in, like Canberra last year. Pretty much since the first year the cap was introduced, there’s been a massive disparity between the haves and haves not clubs, or the chosen nrl pet clubs and all the other clubs who fight for the scraps with what’s leftover.

Some clubs have clearly been taking the piss with the cap for the past decade or so to the point it’s comical beyond belief. Whether it’s bad governance of the cap, or outright nrl corruption, or a healthy mix of both those things, my own view is they should fuck the cap off completely and let the real dud clubs bleed out and die and then we’ll have a decent 10 or 12 team comp which I think would be brilliant. There’s clearly not enough talent for a world class top-flight 16 team comp.

 

[TwinTurbo]

I'm not sure if you were wanting a critique or not, but here's my 20 cents;

Your points allocation for years of playing NRL are too high. For example every club has "journeymen" in their 30, players with lots of experience but not necessarily players of a high standard, or maybe they were early in their career but are now being retained out of loyalty and/or the need for experience in the squad. I'd suggest reducing the points by 25% to 30%.

Your points allocation for representative honours is too low, their playing quality needs to be better recognised. For example a player with 2 years of NRL experience that plays SOO in his 3rd year is only rated at 30 + 10 = 40 points. I'd suggest doubling the rep points. Not sure if this applies, but I think there needs to be a cut off time when a player no longer carries rep points, just because he was selected for SOO say 5 years ago doesn't mean that he is still SOO quality. One year out is probably not enough, could have been suspended or injured, maybe a discount for, say, 3 years not selected would work.

There should be some recognition of achievements, playing in a premiership winning team for example, or a number of grand finals. More for NRL but some smaller recognition of SuperLeague as well. Keeping in mid one objective of the points (same as salary cap) is to even up the competition. So there should be some incentive for winning teams to let players go to other teams.

FWIW worth I think your rating of SBW is way too low at 60 points (it's the same as your rating of Tolman as a comparison), I'd rate SBW more like;
123 NRL games = 45
Kiwi Rep = 20 less 50% discount for more than 3 years ago.
All Blacks Rep = 10 (representative Rugby last year has to count for something, say the same points as tier 2)
NRL Premiership winner = 10 x 2 = 20
Total = 85


Go Dogs

 

[TwinTurbo]

The salary cap was introduced so supposedly every team had a somewhat fair chance of being competitive and making finals etc, but realistically, every year there are only 3 or 4 clubs who have a shot at the title, with maybe 1 or 2 smokey’s who punch above their weight thrown in, like Canberra last year. Pretty much since the first year the cap was introduced, there’s been a massive disparity between the haves and haves not clubs, or the chosen nrl pet clubs and all the other clubs who fight for the scraps with what’s leftover.

Some clubs have clearly been taking the piss with the cap for the past decade or so to the point it’s comical beyond belief. Whether it’s bad governance of the cap, or outright nrl corruption, or a healthy mix of both those things, my own view is they should fuck the cap off completely and let the real dud clubs bleed out and die and then we’ll have a decent 10 or 12 team comp which I think would be brilliant. There’s clearly not enough talent for a world class top-flight 16 team comp.

I don't think we can ignore the fact that some clubs just badly fark up their salary cap management all on their own. We are a prime example of that, with Broncos currently making us look like geniuses and the Titans fighting their way out of their own self created shyte pile.

Go Dogs

 

[Freakzilla]

What a fucking retarded idea.

 

[Psycho Doggie]

Vlasnik, it is great that you've given this issue some decent thought and come up with an idea for a system. By doing this you are way ahead of anyone has complained about the current system but suggested nothing for fixing it.

The advantage of your system is that there is no hiding from it, there is no debate over how many games a player has played in. It's a nice simple transparent form of measurement.

Although it is nicely transparent, I can see potential for debate over this form of measurement in cases such as a junior bench forward who reaches 50 games but most of them are 25 minutes or so of game time, versus a back who plays 80 minutes, in 50 games that could be a difference of over 40 hours of on field time.

 

[Caveman]

Why not just set transparent minimum cap value amounts for players based 9n a similar system - to work with the current salary cap (along with transparent 3rd party deals).

1 to 4 year contracts only.

Rookie = min wage minimum (max 3 year contract)

20 games experience = min wage plus 50% minimum

50 games experience min wage plus 100% minimum

100 games plus 200%

Juniors retained 50% discount on matches played addition for all time served at one club as well as actual cap relief.

6 years plus @ one club, 25% discount on matches played addition plus actual cap relief.

Rep origin or tier 1 country = add 100% per year capped at 5 years ( and minus 100% for each year out after minimum 2 years)


Tier 2 country = add 50%
per year capped at 5 years ( and minus 100% for each year out after minimum 2 years)

Finals football experience = 50% of minimum wage per year, max 5 years.

Gf experience ad 50% per gf no max.

Add a non compulsory draft with players whom take part in draft to get a one off lump sum payment by the NRL with no cool off period.

Minimum wage does not mean maximum wage, but gives everyone a good understanding of what each player is worth as a minimum, also TPA s should all be made public, not necessarily the monetary value but at the very least the company sponsoring, this will create transparency without needing to release financial information.

Also 2 trade windows where all trades are made in those 2 windows, long 9ne at end of year and small one in June.

 

[Freakzilla]

Just make it like Soccer. Have a transfer system. If the Roosters want a player from the Tigers then they have to pay a transfer fee. Tigers can then use that money to buy a replacement or re-invest into younger players.

 

[chisdog]

The recent signing of Sonny Bill Williams to the Sydney Roosters has sparked an outcry of unfairness and controversy among supporters of the game.

Although he is unarguably a great marketing tool for the NRL, the point of contention here for anyone other than an Easts supporter is how such an established superstar, dual-international in both league and union, can be valued at $400,000 a season.

I’m all for the NRL pulling whatever strings they can to sign the best rugby players in the world to maintain their status as the greatest rugby competition in the world, but the current salary cap system limits this ambition.

This is where a revamp of the system needs to happen – a proposal in which the NRL takes carriage of player contracts and implements a points-based system in its place.

Here’s how it will work:

Player salaries
As stated, player contracts will be centralised to the NRL body, meaning clubs will no longer manage a salary cap for their 30-man squads.

The NRL will determine the prices of every player dependent on their representative experience, first-grade experience in NRL and ESL, age, position, injury history, as well as other extenuating factors.

The current allocated salary cap amounts for clubs would revert back to the NRL, meaning the NRL can use this $160 million to pay their 400 contracted players. This amount would now just work as a guide for player salary expenditure rather than a set cap.


Furthermore, loosening restrictions on sponsorships and third-party agreements would further assist the NRL in signing and retaining the world’s best players and strengthen the competition by allowing players open opportunities to make as much money they can during their football careers. After all, the average career length for a first-grader is around 40 games.

Ultimately, the abolishment of clubs managing player salaries would provide the NRL body with much more power in the player market. But despite there being much more leeway for the NRL in managing player salaries, it is a necessary change when it goes hand-in-hand with the following proposed player point system (PPS).

Player points system (PPS)
The PPS would act as each NRL club’s new ‘cap’ and would be heavily based around a player’s representative and first-grade experience rather than the club salary.

Clubs will be able to manage their PPS under the following guidelines:

Club points allocation
1350 points per team (squad of 30 players)

Individual player points criteria
80 points: 200 or more first-grade games (inclusive of NRL and ESL);

70 points: 150-199 first-grade games;


60 points: 100-149 first-grade games;

50 points: 75-99 first-grade games;

40 points: 50-74 first-grade games;

30 points: 21-49 first-grade games;

20 points: 1-20 first-grade games;

10 points: No first-grade experience.

Representative points criteria
Applies to players who have participated in representative football within the past three years, and only the most relevant one applies:

Extra 20 points: Tier-one international representation (Australia, New Zealand or England)


Extra 10 points: State of origin representation


Extra 5 points: Tier-two international representation (any nation besides tier-one)
Discounts
Minus 5 points: Per fifty games played for the same club.

Minus 5 points: For each local junior playing at their club.
PPS guidelines
Player points are calculated and allocated at the commencement of each player contract and are reviewed after contract expiry or after two years whether the contract has expired or not, whichever comes first. Effectively, clubs can still determine the length of contract for a player but will need to take these systematic changes into account.
Squads of 30 must be finalised by June 30th, with no minimum spend of player points required.
Clubs will incur point penalties if they decide to terminate a player under contract. The penalty would be covering a portion of that player’s points for another team to use him, making him a cheap buy – similarly, a player will cost more points if the individual is at-fault for breaching their contract rather than affect the club’s points. Other points penalties could stem from withholding players participating in representative football for no reasonable excuse.

PPS 2020 NRL squad analysis

The following is what each club’s 30-man squad would cost for the 2020 season, inclusive of representative points but omitting discounts:
Raiders: 1725
Roosters: 1560
Storm: 1500
Eels: 1415
Sharks: 1400
Bulldogs: 1395
Knights: 1385
Broncos: 1350
Warriors: 1340
Tigers: 1340
Titans: 1335
Dragons: 1300
Cowboys: 1295
Rabbitohs: 1290
Sea Eagles: 1250
Panthers: 1125

The average for player points between NRL clubs is 1380. Again, this is without taking into account the junior and one-club loyalty discounts, therefore I believe a PPS cap of 1350 points (average 45 points per player) is very manageable for clubs.

Looking at the above data, the Penrith Panthers have the lowest PPS score, yet are currently topping the NRL ladder. What is interesting is their squad is riddled with Penrith juniors, meaning their club would benefit greatly from the discount criteria. Teams such as the Storm and Roosters who aren’t renowned for home-grown talent would struggle to enable this discount.

(Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

When analysing the Storm and Roosters, as well as the Raiders, these clubs have the highest point amounts. It is notable that their squads are riddled with international talent and first-grade experience so the PPS would effectively spread that talent around. I don’t think it is any coincidence that their clubs are currently in the top eight and vying for a solid chance at winning this year’s premiership.

But going back to the crux of this article, the PPS needs to be implemented for fairness purposes. So, let’s take Sonny Bill Williams for example: he played 123 first-grade games for Bulldogs (73), Roosters (45) and Toronto Wolfpack (5), no representative rugby league in past three years and has just signed back up with the Sydney Roosters for the remainder of the 2020 NRL season.

If the PPS system was currently in effect, Williams would cost the Roosters 60 player points so I highly doubt they would have had any chance of signing him as they have under the salary cap system. This in itself was controversial, to say the least, with the price that was set: the PPS would have squashed this issue as player salary is not a worry for clubs.

The PPS idea would indeed have its flaws, but removing salary cap control from NRL clubs would shift their focus to managing players under the PPS only and allow the NRL body to worry about salaries. This in-turn removes financial headaches for clubs and would undoubtedly spread playing talent across the NRL clubs, making the system a lot fairer and transparent than the one currently in place.

Furthermore, the PPS would hugely benefit the clubs appropriately nursing their junior systems and would inevitably encourage those clubs that don’t to start investing more funds into their grassroots programs. This ultimately provides incentives for clubs and players to remain loyal to one another – something each supporter definitely appreciates despite sport becoming a business.

https://www.theroar.com.au/2020/08/...s-to-replace-the-salary-cap/#comments-section

I sent something to David Gallop 10 years ago like this
- 5 points for first grade experience, junior Aust, NZ or Eng player + an additional 5 points for every 50 NRL games.

- 2 points for every City or Country representation (if you do not play this form of representative football you would lose one point after 12 months and the other point if you do not represent in two consecutive years.

- 10 points for every State of Origin game or international game outside NZ, Aust & Eng

- 20 points for every international game (for NZ, Aust & Eng)

Now if you haven't played a SOO game for 12 months you get a 20% discount, 2 years 40% etc & so after 5 years of not playing SOO these points would no longer count towards the cap. The same would apply to test level.

You could include discounts for local juniors & long serving players.

 

[Nasheed]

Nasheed here,
This is dumb,
However,
I have the answer.

 

[TwinTurbo]

Nasheed here,
This is dumb,
However,
I have the answer.

and then ............


Go Dogs