Re: NRL signs $1 billion broadcast deal : Thu Aug 23, 2012 8:08 pm
Only Rugby League fans in Britain would be able to turn one of the worlds largest TV Sports broadcasting deals into a bad news story.This deal has the potential to propel the NRL over the next decade into becoming a global sporting mega brand, like The Premier League, NBA or NFL.
The contract pretty much cements Rugby league as by far the most dominant code of Rugby in the Southern Hemisphere.
I can see the potential that over the next decade, getting a contract to play in the NRL, will be something that many rugby players of both codes will aspire too.
You are a nobody in Basketball unless you play in the NBA, going forward you wont be anyone in Rugby unless you have played NRL.
What of the impact to British RL.
Well many of our best players will naturally gravitate down there as the money on offer, a bog standard NRL player will soon be earning £200k while the superstars will be earning close to £1million a season in the NRL.
This will naturally lower the standard of the British competition, however it may make it more exciting.
I'll explain. With fewer stars at the top teams. The difference in quality between the Saints and Wigans of this world compared to the Salfords and Castlefords will be less. This will make for more unpredictable results and a more closely fought league.
Some people have also suggested that with fewer stars on show that fans will turn away from the sport. This is debatable as it can be argued that there are few genuine star turns in the SL at this moment in time, yet gates are at historically high levels.
The last time Britain had a raft of genuine world class players was the early 1970's, when the likes of St.Helens and Wigan only averaged 3000 to 4000 a match.
The late 1980's early 1990's also saw genuine stars like Andy Gregory, Gary Schofield, Ellery Hanley, Martin Offiah and Jonathon Davies. Yet gates were less than in the current SL era.
This to me shows that getting people to games is about more than the perceived quality on the pitch.