NRL boss Todd Greenberg sensationally QUITS after the game’s financial woes were laid bare by the coronavirus lockdown
- Todd Greenberg has quit his job as NRL CEO amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis
- The NRL boss since 2016, he had come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks
- Greenberg, 48, had lost the support of NRL clubs and rugby league commission
- A bombshell statement by Channel Nine slammed his ‘mismanagement’ of NRL
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
NRL boss Todd Greenberg has stood down amid mounting financial pressure on the game due to the ongoing coronavirus lockdown.
Greenberg made the announcement on Monday afternoon and in a statement said it had been an ‘honour’ to oversee the national rugby league code.
‘It has been my great honour and privilege to be the CEO of the NRL for the last four years,’ Greenberg said.
‘Despite the variety of challenges and pressures I have loved every single minute of the journey. Our growth over the last 4 years has been extraordinary and I am very proud of my contribution to the game.’
His decision to quit follows increased scrutiny on him in recent weeks, after financial woes of the league were laid bare amid the COVID-19 crisis.
NRL boss Todd Greenberg has stood down after increased criticism over the sate of the game’s financial woes were laid bare by the coronavirus lockdown
The league was able to complete its first two rounds of the 2020 season, despite the second round being played in front of empty stadiums.
It was revealed the league’s head office was operating at a cost of almost $500,000-a-day, which is believed to have lost Greenberg the support of the clubs and ARL.
The NRL is desperate to get its players back on the park with serious fears not doing so could result in permanent financial ruin for some clubs.
Players have already been told they will have to take pay cuts up to 87 per cent due to the coronavirus crisis, while clubs have begun sacking coaching and front office staff.
Pressure on Greenberg only grew last week NRL TV rights holder Channel Nine hit out at ‘mismanagement of the code’ in recent years, in a bombshell statement.
‘At Nine we had hoped to work with the NRL on a solution to the issues facing rugby league in 2020, brought on so starkly by COVID-19,’ the statement began.
‘But this health crisis in our community has highlighted the mismanagement of the code over many years. Nine has invested hundreds of millions in this game over decades and we now find they have profoundly wasted those funds with very little to fall back on to support the clubs, the players and supporters.
Greenberg (pictured with wife Lisa at the 2019 Dally M Awards) said it had been an ‘honour’ to oversee the game for more than four years
‘In the past the NRL have had problems and we’ve bailed them out many times including a $50m loan to support clubs when the last contract was signed.
‘It would now appear that much of that has been squandered by a bloated head office completely ignoring the needs of the clubs, players and supporters.’
Nine’s frank statement came after league bosses announced plans to restart the NRL on May 28 – despite at that point not having approval from any government to do so.
The league was able to complete its first two rounds of the 2020 season, despite the second round being played in front of empty stadiums.
Greenberg took over as NRL CEO in 2016, having previously been the boss of the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs.