National Rugby League players have secured two months of pay while the competition is in hiatus, but will forego another five months' salary should the 2020 season not kick off again.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
An agreement was reached between the Rugby League Players' Association and the NRL.
NRL CEO Todd Greenberg and Rugby League Players' Association chief Clint Newton announced the new arrangement late on Thursday evening after consulting with player delegates from each club including captains Jarrod Croker, Daly Cherry-Evans and Wade Graham.
Under the terms of the agreement, players will surrender the final five months of their salary for the 2020 season due to the uncertainty caused by the spread of the virus and the impact it is having on the economy.
The NRL and the RLPA have agreed $24.6 million will be distributed to player, with installment already paid on April 1, and the next to come on May 1.
If the competition is unable to resume, players will surrender five out of 12 months' salary, a figure Greenberg agreed to match from his own personal wage on Wednesday.
Should play get back under way, the RLPA has negotiated a minimum 29.5% share of any net revenue the game raises via a condensed competition.
Greenberg said it was "a difficult time for our game and the wider community and the challenges we face are immense, and unprecedented".
"The players understand the severity of the circumstances we face and have demonstrated their willingness to work with us to secure the best possible outcome to protect the long-term future of our game.
"I know it hasn't been easy and I thank the RLPA and the playing group for their maturity, professionalism and diligence in helping us reach this solution."
Netwon said the entire community had been affected by "these extraordinary and unexpected circumstances".
"Our great game and our people are feeling those effects. The coronavirus pandemic has placed the game and its people under huge pressure and players have assumed the responsibility, like many others, to ensure the future of our clubs and the NRL is protected," he said.
-NRL