![\"Christian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793306436_656_635402f1698dc5687fb8f98be5c093fe76cbc56f.png\")
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October 29, 2026 \u2014 7:30pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n No gift articles left<\/p>\n You’ve used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.<\/p>\n Close<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n The Rugby League Players Association wants to protect NRL players on the lower end of the pay scale by introducing match payments in the next collective bargaining agreement.<\/p>\n The new $5.3 billion broadcast deal<\/a> is set to result in the game\u2019s elite players, like Penrith\u2019s Nathan Cleary, commanding salaries well above $1.5 million a season, with the salary cap expected to rise to about $15-16 million in 2028.<\/p>\n But the RLPA wants players who sit at the bottom end of playing rosters to have their salaries topped up with match payments worth up to $3000 a game.<\/p>\n That money would sit outside the salary cap and reward players who don\u2019t normally play in the NRL each week but get more game time, including in the middle of the year when representative players are rested or unavailable. Under the RLPA\u2019s proposal, which has not been pitched to the NRL yet, the match payments would be extended to all players, including the highest-paid stars in the game.<\/p>\n For example, if a player receives $150,000 a season, he could make an additional $36,000 if he plays all 24 games with match payments set at $1500. That figure would double to $72,000 if payments were $3000 a game.<\/p>\n RLPA chief executive Clint Newton said the \u201cpay-for-play model\u201d was embraced during the last CBA negotiations, and said some clubs had indicated they were more than supportive of the concept being introduced this time.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best players will always be paid the most, but we also believe a lot of the journeymen, the players who sit mid-tier in the cap, and even young players who are asked to play more games and contribute way more than first expected, should be rewarded,\u201d Newton said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou would still have your salary cap, but the match payments would sit outside that.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to introduce it in the last CBA, but we couldn\u2019t do it due to where the salary cap ended up. It had broad support last time, and we believe that support has since increased.<\/p>\n \u201cThis money helps the guys who are out there in the absence of the superstars who are asked to play more matches [at representative level].\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article Match payments capped at $1500 would cost the NRL an additional $11m per year, based on eight games a week, and 38 players involved in each game, excluding finals. That figure rises to $22m if the payments are doubled.<\/p>\n Newton said match fees would also be used to pay judicial fines, rather than money being deducted from salaries.<\/p>\n Origin payments have remained at $30,000 a game for several seasons, and could potentially rise to at least $40,000, while minimum salaries could jump from $145,000, plus medical insurance, to as much as $175,000.<\/p>\n Players collect about 41.5 per cent of all NRL revenue under the current CBA, but Newton said \u201cthere would be a valid argument\u201d for that percentage to rise given the addition of two \u2013 and possibly three \u2013 teams in the coming years.<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the week in sport sent every Friday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Rugby](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/c27a65d565efc56ceb692ec6a7fbbe0d4d21210a.jpeg\")
Rugby League Players Association boss Clint Newton.Louise Kennerley<\/p>\n![\"Victor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793306437_922_b2833fa91101eb39013ecaca19886e7f5440f2a1.jpeg\")
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