Peter V'landys is back to his best, and now the ARLC chairman wants rugby league club's futures sorted for the next 100 years.
As the financial feud between NRL clubs and the governing body begins to wind down, the dust is settling and the result is becoming clearer, revealing a big win for struggling clubs.
The two parties have created a future funding model for the NRL, giving relieving assurance to clubs with murky futures in the competition, guaranteeing they'll remain in the NRL for as long as they wish.
V'landys played a key role in finding the mutual ground, the chairman revealing the NRL is on the cusp of of a practically infinite license period.
โWe are going to introduce perpetual licenses which run forever.
โThe law says we have to put a figure on it so it will be 99 years for arguments sake," V'landys toldย News Corp.
The current agreement comes to an end in 2023, the new funding model putting ease to clubs that were reportedly considering not signing the upcoming agreement due to the feud.
It means an end to the current negotiation system.
โFrom here on the clubs won't have to sign a new agreement every 10 years,โ V'landys said.
While it does give guarantees to clubs that aren't as financially well off as their rivals, the licenses can still be cancelled under an extreme circumstance, with V'landys using the current Titans ownership as an example.
โRight now the Titans have two great owners,โ V'landys toldย News Corp.
โI hope they keep the ownership forever.
โBut what if they decide to sell down the track?
โWhat if we find out a year later that the new owner is actually an international cocaine smuggler.
โWhat if he goes to jail. It's only that sort of scenario that might put a license at risk.โ
The funding model is set to be confirmed in the 2023 agreement, with the NRL also adding in an equality factor to the deal, meaning that clubs will need to fill a certain number of seats on the board and senior internal positions with women.
