The National Rugby League "could have lost" more than A$10M ($7M) in potential sponsorships during the offseason alone "as the reputational hit from player behaviour strips revenue from clubs," according to Lutton, Nicolussi & Proszenko of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. All of the teams contacted about the fallout resulting from behavioral issues said that sponsors had been "spooked" by the Ben Barba and Jack de Belin incidents. They added that new business was "increasingly difficult to come by as the sagas threatened to drag on throughout the season." South Sydney CEO Blake Solly estimated the damage at "north of $10 million" and said that attracting new corporate dollars to the table was "becoming a slog." He said, "It's been more difficult to attract new sponsors. It's slightly easier to retain existing sponsors because they see all the positives about the sport because they're already in it; they can see 95% of the players in the game are fantastic and great role models. ... New sponsors are the ones who feel that rugby league at the moment is too big a risk for them." Gold Coast Titans Chair Dennis Watt said that the NRL's Net Promoter Score, a measure of a company's relationship with its consumers, had "dipped' 13 points, which equated to about A$6.5M ($4.6M) in revenue "being left at the gate." Watt: "When you are talking about 13 points at A$500,000 ($357,000) a point, that's A$6.5 million lost to the game in potential sponsorship" (SMH, 2/16). In Sydney, Sam Phlilips reported Australian Rugby League Commission Chair Peter Beattie admitted the NRL's "summer from hell" cost the code millions of dollars in sponsorship revenue. He said, "People can talk figures all they like but the reality of the situation is this ... if anyone thinks this isn't costing us money, they are not living in the real world. That obviously worries us and is one of many reasons why we are addressing this." Newcastle Knights CEO Philip Gardner believes changes must be made so that players are aware how a particular offense "may impact their on-field careers." Gardner: "One of the problems we have is we haven't clearly identified the penalties. We need to have some base levels." Wests Tigers Chair Marina Go, whose views "do not necessarily represent the entirety of the Tigers board," believes the disciplinary decision "should be taken out of the hands of clubs" (SMH, 2/17).
