ARL commission chairman Peter V'Landys has said the NRL has no intention of cutting player salaries again as the competition relocates to Queensland.
Despite 13 teams now being on the road, and the cost likely to sit at $15 million per month, V'Landys has told the Sydney Morning Herald that players won't take another hit to the pocket.
“Out of good spirit and goodwill, we won’t be doing anything. There will be no reduction,” V'Landys said.
“We got ourselves into a pretty good financial position up until this, we were travelling very well."
It comes after player salaries were cut last year due to the competition shutdown for a period of around three months as the initial COVID wave took hold in Australia.
One positive for the NRL and their clubs with the bubble move is that crowds will still be allowed in the bubble, a reality which would have been starkly different in Sydney. Melbourne too would now be facing the same issue, with the city into its fifth lockdown following a spike in COVID cases.
The Storm have spent more time away from home than any Australian-based club, having relocated to the Sunshine Coast for five months last year, and again for a couple of weeks throughout this season.
With COVID cases still on the rise and lockdowns becoming tighter in Sydney though, there was almost no chance of crowds being allowed at any Sydney or New South Wales-based venue in the next month, with the potential for it to extend the remainder of the season.
Despite some players expressing concerns about being in a Queensland bubble for the remainder of the year, a majority have taken it positively, with the bubble allowing the competition to continue at the current time.
The NRL's first week in the bubble has proven a success thus far, with only Sunday games remaining at the time of writing.
