Struggling National Rugby League clubs are "set to receive an early windfall from the game’s new broadcasting deal with the Nine Network," according to Read & Honeysett of THE AUSTRALIAN. The NRL reportedly had negotiated a A$50M ($37M) advance "as part of the record-breaking agreement." The NRL will direct some of the advance on its A$925M ($685M) deal toward the clubs, "four of which are currently surviving in large part on financial support" from the game's governing body. Importantly, the clubs "will have their futures secured by a deal which will allow the club grant to increase" in '17 and then "skyrocket" from '18. NRL CEO Dave Smith said, "I'm really happy with the way the cash flows have been positioned in this deal. ... I think the game is strong and healthy and the game's balance sheet is fixed. We're working very hard with the clubs to make sure the clubs get more prosperous and are able to run their businesses without some of the day-to-day things that they have to face up to today." Canberra CEO Don Furner welcomed the prospect that some of the advanced A$50M payment in '17 "could be filtered down to the clubs but added it was important to increase the gap between the annual grant and the money they spend on total player payments" for the NRL, NSW Cup and Holden Cup. The gap between the grant and the cap is currently around A$500,000 ($370,300) but Furner and other CEOs would like to see it lifted to A$2M ($1.48M) or more (THE AUSTRALIAN, 8/11).
