Superstar: Greg Inglis is worth every cent he gets from South Sydney. Credit:Matt Roberts It should be encouraged. It's another form of revenue for our game. It's another form of income and opportunity for players. It's a fact though that the better connected and better run clubs attract the bigger corporate support and hence the bigger name players. As a result, there is no doubt that over time, their rosters and performances start to look better too. We have clubs who rely heavily on player development. Other clubs rely heavily on recruitment. Some clubs use a combination of both. The one thing that can't be denied though is that not all playing rosters look the same, despite the fact the 16 NRL clubs are supposed to be spending the same amount of money. Greater transparency and understanding is the key.

Scrutiny: Anthony Watmough's third-party deal with the Eels has been looked at by the NRL. Credit:Quinn Rooney Club officials owe it to their members, sponsors and corporate partners, their community; in fact, they owe it to the game in general, to do all in their power to maximise the competitiveness of their team. This all adds to the quality and popularity of the NRL competition. What I do see though is that player values are constantly spiralling and despite the fact salary cap levels are at an all-time high, the unregulated nature of player movement within the game places huge pressure on player wages. Player values have again inflated for a number of reasons. The fact that this is a competition and winning matters is the main reason. The 16 clubs compete with each other. We may cooperate on matters of game-wide importance, but we compete with each other for success, sponsorship and support.

The other significant factors affecting player values are the increased salary cap levels, the top teams' ability to access increasing levels of third party sponsorship, and the threat of other codes attracting our marquee players. These all provide upward pressure on player values. The reason these factors have been able to influence player prices so significantly is twofold. First, we don't have any worthwhile or meaningful regulations on player movement between NRL clubs. This is the big one. We fix this and we fix pretty much all of the other issues. There has to be greater control around player recruitment and player movement between clubs. Second, there are not enough clubs actively involved in long term player development. Hence the need to recruit is greater.

The latest pathways and development model endorsed by the NRL Commission proudly announces the fact they will spend less on player development and save the clubs a lot of money. What business anywhere in the world ever gets better by spending less on development? Increased player payments are not just occurring at the NRL level either. The cost of promising teenagers who display any glimpse of potential is spiralling totally out of control. It's complete madness. I think it's time the Commissioners, NRL management and club officials get themselves together to discuss the realities and effects of third party agreements on the NRL competition as it stands today. This very important matter has never really been adequately discussed between clubs. I know this part of our game is a growing source of frustration among fans. I know the growing disparity in third party sponsorship levels between NRL clubs is also a major concern for NRL officials and the salary cap auditors. They want to claim the salary cap keeps teams even. Yet they know things aren't even because of the difference in registered third party sponsorships for different clubs. Drawcard: Former NRL star Jarryd Hayne. Credit:Getty Images

I recently discussed this matter with an NRL official. I asked him how much difference there was between the NRL team with the most registered third party sponsorships and the team with the least number. He replied that the team with the most number of registered sponsorships was somewhere north of $1.3million, (just how far north is anyone's guess), and the team with the least number of registered player sponsorships was less than $200,000. So we have a disparity between the commercially strong clubs and less advantaged clubs of at least $1 million and probably anything up to nearly $2 million per season. If that's what it is, then why hide the fact? Why not explain it to the fans? This inequality of opportunity and financial support brings with it many issues. These TPAs add to the inflationary market forces on player payments and in many ways are distorting player values.

The top clubs set the market values but have salary cap support through sponsors to balance the books. To get into the player market fight, the clubs with less financial backing are forced to pay the inflated prices, but the whole wage goes into the fixed salary cap pool. This ultimately affects the depth of talent in the roster. It's a double-edged sword. Again, this is a competition and it can be strongly argued that all this stuff is fair enough. That's the advantage the strong clubs have and maybe they should be entitled to flex their muscles. Why should they care about the clubs who don't have access to such funds? I could easily listen to that argument. I've got no problem if that's the way it has to be. But let the fans know how much each club is spending on total player payments rather than trying to sell the story that all teams are equal. In an environment where winning is key to the success, sustainability and commercial result of each NRL club, this disparity in access to such corporate support is a constant source of stress to those who work in this game. I'm all for players earning as much money as possible during the course of their playing careers. They are entitled to sell themselves to sponsors for all they are worth. However, as the system exists, these ever-increasing third party agreements are putting pressure on the game on many levels. Valuable commodity: Cross-code star Sonny Bill Williams. Credit:Getty Images The clubs who have access to significant amounts of sponsorship dollars to enhance the quality of their playing roster, naturally see this as an advantage to themselves over the rest of the field. They don't really want to be drawn into conversations on the matter because they have an edge over their rivals. Fair enough too. That's free enterprise at work.

But that doesn't help the fans of other clubs getting frustrated because their team can't match it with the big boys on marquee player purchases. Just by way of brief explanation, there are three main earnings areas for an NRL player under the current salary cap rules. First, the salary cap itself. This is the basic wage pool for your top 25 NRL roster. Second, there is a marquee player allowance of up to $600,000. The club can guarantee this money to the player and find a sponsor to pay the player on behalf of the club. This can be a current sponsor associated with the club. Then we come to TPAs. Payments to players from sponsors or individuals outside the club's list of official sponsors. These people invest their money in players for a variety of reasons. All of them legitimate. It may be brand or business oriented, a philanthropic motivation to assist a player's personal development, or it could simply be passionate money because the sponsor loves the club and he wants this player to remain with the team. Why should our game ignore this support? Why shouldn't we be looking for ways to grow this financial and corporate interest in rugby league? Why shouldn't we embrace and entertain the people who support our game, our clubs and our players in this manner? The problems occur because some clubs have far greater access to this support than others. It affects recruitment and competitiveness. The matter needs to be discussed. A room full of smart people talking about these issues can produce a solution that will benefit every NRL club and the game of rugby league into the future. Then again, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe no one wants to talk about it.

Loading Phil Gould is the general manager of the Penrith Panthers.