The GPA agreed a new deal with the GAA today. The new arrangement has greatly bolstered their influence and increased the level of funding available for players under a couple of different headings. What have they acquired from the new deal that wasn't in place before?
Their last deal was signed in 2011 during Christy Cooney's tenure of GAA President. The deal was to run for five years.
The funding made available to the GPA from the GAA's coffers was €1.5 million per annum. The 2011 agreement said that this would increase to €2 million by 2015.
The 2016 deal is estimated to be worth a total of €6.2 million a year to the GPA . The deal will run between 2017 and 2019.
The GPA will now receive 15% of the GAA central commercial revenue every year (this figure was in the region of €18 million last year but there is another TV deal coming down the tracks) This is unless that 15% figure dips below €2,5 million (which is unlikely) in which case they will receive that €2.5 million as a baseline figure.
The GPA were extremely keen to tie their funding to commercial revenue. The GAA were reluctant to agree to this in 2011 but this time around Pariac Duffy says this was regarded as the best way forward for both sides. The new agreement means that if commercial revenue grows then the level of funding available to the GPA will increase in accordance with it.
One of the newest aspects of the deal is the €1.2 million nutrition fund. The words 'nutrition' did not enter into the 2011 deal. This new dimension to the deal was put forward by the players themselves. As GPA Secretary Seamus Hickey outlined;
It’s relatively new aspect of the game, even since I started in 2006, an element of preparation that hasn’t been engaged in before. It’s only a contribution, not a complete reimbursement, and obviously the further you go in the championship the more you benefit from it.
Another aspect of the mileage. Players had been reimbursed to the tune of 50 cent per mile under the old arrangement. The present deal tops that up to between 62.5 cent and 65 cent per mile. This will cost €1.5 million a year. A fund has also been set up to help out former inter-county players.
What of the non-financial aspects of the deal?
The GPA will be allowed an extra-delegate at Congress and now have the right to submit one motion to Congress on any chosen issue. This may include championship structures (though whether these would pass on the floor is of course a whole other battle). A new working group consisting of players and officials has been established to investigate the demands placed on players. Their findings will be submitted next year.
