NRL players are reportedly set to boycott the end-of-season Dally M Awards due to a cash row.
The Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) have been in discussions with the NRL about the game's financial position for several months and been told by senior officials the game could not afford tomeet their demands, according to a Fairfax report.
But with the NRL earlier this season trumpeting a $50-million surplus for the last financial year, and Channel Nine having agreed to pay another $50 million up front as part of the new $925 million free-to-air television deal beginning in 2018, players believe they are entitled to a share of that money.
It's believed the demand is not centred around an increase in the salary cap but a desire for the NRL to contribute more to retirement funds and education welfare costs.
While the five-year collective bargaining agreement between the RLPA and the NRL isn't due to expire until 2017, there is a provision for the two parties to undertake a review of the profitability of the game with a view to ascertaining whether payments or allowances can be increased.
The report said the NRL had told the RLPA that spending on the game had also increased and pointed to a predicted $40 million in losses by clubs this season as evidence of why they couldn't accommodate their demands.
Players boycotted the 2003 Dally M awards, and with this year's event to be held in grand final week, there is a possibility they may do so again.
