The NRL and Australian Rugby League Commission are reportedly set to sign off on a mega increase to the level of prizemoney offered for the minor premiership and premiership.

The money offered for winning the minor premiership in particular has often been laughed at by clubs and fans alike.

The Penrith Panthers then took a shot at the NRL for their $200,000 prizemoney offer for the premiers following this year's decider - which the Panthers have now won two years in a row.

Panthers CEO Brian Fletcher told The Daily Telegraph at the time that it was "ridiculous."

โ€œThey (NRL) got millions extra from the government to play the grand final in Sydney,โ€ Fletcher said at the time.

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โ€œThey boast in the newspaper last week about making a $50 million profit.

โ€œThey've bought a hotel and restaurant for $25 million. It's just ridiculous.

โ€œWe all agreed to taking a 50 per cent cut in prizemoney when Covid hit.

โ€œThat was fair enough. But there's no Covid anymore, we sold out the stadium, yet Andrew Abdo won't move on it.

โ€œThe clubs and players put the show on. We've put in a lot of effort and a lot of money to get to where we are. Seriously it should be a couple of million.โ€

But that issue is finally set to be left in the dust, with a $1 million pot reportedly set to be offered to any team who can complete the minor premiership and premiership double, according to News Corp.

That will see $800,000 for the premiers, and a significant increase to $200,000 for the minor premiership.

While a top-two finish comes with the right to host a home qualifying final, the value in winning the minor premiership over resting players at the back end of the season has long been debated, with the new prizemoney going somewhat towards closing the gap.

It's also reported by the publication that a total of $2.5 million in additional funding will be offered to the clubs.

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said the increased prizemoney was now only waiting on commission approval.

โ€œOf course, it's a premier competition and we want prize money to be where it needs to be. Next year, it will be up by four times the current levels, subject to commission approval,โ€ Abdo said.

โ€œWe halved it during Covid so it will go back to pre-Covid levels and then I'm putting a proposal forward to double those original levels. It would be the same principle for all prize money.โ€

1 COMMENT

  1. Disagree with this. Teams will not play any harder just because the prize money is higher. (Clubs can’t give any of it to the players, anyway, because of the salary cap).

    I would have preferred to see NRL Central give some more money – even if it’s only $100K each – to the clubs. Only a couple make a profit, the rest run at a loss.

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