Once upon a Christmas time, a boss wanted to give his workers a present before the factory closed for the holiday break.
Fortuitously, in the previous week, the factory had won the lottery.
All 16 factory workers had tipped in to buy the winning ticket, as well as the boss who actually walked to the top end of town to buy it. A meeting of the 16 workers had already agreed that their combined wages should total just over half all the factory output, plus the lottery win. The boss was sympathetic to this demand but keen to set aside an amount to train future little workers for the factory, even to expand his product to new markets. He also had to pay the office staff whom many of the factory workers complained hadn't contributed to the price of the lottery ticket. In fact, the boss had been forced to bring in an efficiency expert to check on wastage in the office.
Furthermore, the boss wondered whether the 16 workers needed an equal share of the lottery win. One lived in a spacious double brick house in a suburb where no other worker was allowed to build a home. His annual household budget amazed the other factory workers. The house keeper was paid a huge salary and there was always a surplus which went to a former owner of the factory. Another worker had been given a generous bequest from the same former owner of the factory. This worker was one of the most efficient but was surrounded by houses of workers employed at a rival business much subsidised by the government.
The boss was aware many of his workers lived in fibro or weatherboard houses and were constantly borrowing from banks, or neighbours. The rival business had already started selling its products in their suburbs.
The workers living in poor houses weren't lazy. The red and white house had received a grant from the boss and produced an innovation which made the factory assembly line more efficient.
The worker in the house painted blue, black and white had problems with his children taking banned substances and borrowed from a friend to cover the legal costs. He didn't ask the boss for money for fear he could be asked to shift house.
But a couple of the workers had relatives who gave them loans never to be repaid and were constantly stirring on the factory floor. They insisted all workers receive the same share of the lottery win. They even plotted to sack the boss.
So the boss asked the top end of town to stuff two Christmas stockings with an advance on the lottery money which was to be paid over five years. He gave one stocking to all 16 workers to share equally and used the other to train future workers and benefit the poor households.
Welcome to the expected resolution of ARLC chair John Grant who will meet all 16 clubs on Wednesday. It is expected a $50m advance from Channel Nine will be divided equally among the clubs. Assuming Grant has secured a further $50m from Fox Sports from last week's $2 billion media lottery win, it will be allocated to a grass roots program where he seeks to spend $100m a year. Grant also recognises the need for discretionary funding. The NRL's existing innovations fund requires investment to produce successful programs, such as the Dragons search for bequests, which can be utilised by all clubs. The Raiders, Wests Tigers and Dragons must fight off the incursions of the AFL who insist they are happy to be No 2 in NSW and Queensland, while creeping through the door.
Meanwhile, the Broncos earn a profit of $3m, two thirds of which is technically the property of its 67 per cent shareholder, News Corporation, which once half owned the NRL.
To be fair, the Storm received a generous pay out from News when it sold the Melbourne club.
Some Sydney clubs, such as the Bulldogs, Roosters and Eels, receive grants from their Leagues Club which are never repaid, while the Dragons have a loan from the NRL which they are repaying on commercial terms. The Sharks borrowed from a third party, fearing the NRL might use this leverage to relocate them.
In other words, Grant has to satisfy the rich and secure and the poor and insecure, with some in between, while growing the game.
Let's hope that, in the spirit of Christmas, with Grant's two sacks of gold, the 16 workers agree to spend the money on goodwill to each other.
