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The Sydney Roosters only had a 10th of what Melbourne enjoyed in private sector third-party deals in 2019, according to figures released by the NRL.
The Sydney Roosters claimed back-to-back NRL titles despite being among the lowest benefactors of private sector third-party deals in the league.
According to figures published by the NRL on Friday, the Roosters enjoyed a total of $68,966 in private-sector arms length agreements in 2019.
The 12th highest amount in the competition is almost a 10th of the $809,998 Melbourne topped their salary cap with this season.
Second most were Brisbane ($349k), followed by Penrith ($233k) and Cronulla ($211k), while North Queensland ($15k) and Gold Coast ($18k) were the lowest.
The numbers don't include what's considered whole-of-game TPAs, where league sponsors and host broadcasters can weigh in with individual deals.
James Tedesco (Holden), Boyd Cordner and the recently-retired Cooper Cronk (both Fox Sports) all enjoyed additional income linked with the NRL.
A total $2.7 million private sector TPAs were ticked off by the league in 2019, which is almost half the $4.2 million from last season.
NRL chief operating officer Nick Weeks said the reduction in total TPAs was a result of the decorated retirement class of 2018.
The likes of Johnathan Thurston, Luke Lewis, Simon Mannering, Sam Thaiday, Billy Slater and Ryan Hoffman all hung up the boots last year.
And each of their respective clubs all had sharp declines in private sector TPAs.
Grand finalists Canberra also went from having almost $200,000 worth of private-sector TPAs to just $45k this year due to the collapse of a social media platform.
Weeks also attributed the decrease in a tightening of TPA policies, particularly after Parramatta infamously rorted the salary cap in 2016.
It was only last year that the game took the unprecedented step of unveiling total third-party figures on a club-by-club basis.
"We recognised the genuine concerns our clubs and fans had about third-party agreements," Weeks said on Friday.
"That's why we introduced more strenuous measures to ensure these arrangements are genuine arms-length deals."
Powerbrokers have considered publishing individual TPA figures, but believe the current system has provided the ideal clarity around the murky world of TPAs.
"We are confident that this level of transparency about third-party agreements will improve confidence in the effective operation of the salary cap and reduce the amount of speculation and guess-work about this part of the game," Weeks said.
WHICH CLUBS LED THE LEAGUE IN PRIVATE SECTOR TPAs IN 2019
Melbourne - $809,998
Brisbane - $349,852
Penrith - $233,333
Cronulla - $211,952
South Sydney -$198,591
Newcastle - $181,275
Manly - $148,718
Wests Tigers - $132,458
St George Illawarra - $82,951
Parramatta - $80,166
Sydney Roosters - $68,966
Canterbury - $59,680
Canberra - $45,333
Warriors - $27,591
Gold Coast - $18,153
North Queensland - $15,667