The Government's proposed JobKeeper payment is set to move the goalposts in desperate negotiations between sporting codes and their players amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Key points: Under the JobKeeper scheme, businesses will be paid $750 per week per staff member to keep workers employed

Under the JobKeeper scheme, businesses will be paid $750 per week per staff member to keep workers employed Sports like NRL and AFL will lose millions of dollars in revenue due to postponements and potential match cancellations

Sports like NRL and AFL will lose millions of dollars in revenue due to postponements and potential match cancellations Players and officials had already agreed to take pay cuts or been stood down before JobKeeper was announced

Under the $130 billion measure, announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday, $750 per week, per employee, will be paid to businesses affected by the coronavirus downturn so they can in turn pay each of their staff.

It is designed to keep workers employed as the economy suffers through the shutdown, but it also looms as a major bargaining chip in crisis talks underway across sporting codes.

The NRL, like other sports, will lose millions in ticket sales and broadcast revenue if the coronavirus shutdown continues, and some have speculated it may lead to bankruptcy for some clubs.

In the wake of the JobKeeper announcement, the Rugby League Players Association is updating the financial modelling it is using as it thrashes out a deal with the National Rugby League on a pay cut for players to help the code endure the crisis.

"We are currently reviewing the recent Government announcement regarding subsidies, specifically what our members may be entitled to, and factoring that into our overall payment model," a spokesperson said.

Stay up-to-date on the coronavirus outbreak Download the ABC News app and subscribe to our range of news alerts for the latest on how the pandemic is impacting the world

Details of JobKeeper are still emerging, but the ABC has confirmed with the Government that professional athletes will be eligible, potentially saving clubs and governing bodies millions of dollars they would have otherwise paid players.

While the proposal still needs to pass Parliament, in its current form it means about $400,000 could be injected into the NRL every week across the 16 clubs.

It is also available for six months, meaning close to $10 million could end up passing from the Government to the NRL to prop up the game.

That amount is broadly equivalent to one club's entire salary cap for the season and as much as one quarter of the reported value of the rescue package proposed by the Rugby League Commission.

JobSeeker payments will also be made available to coaches and administrative staff who have been stood down, meaning they could be called back and have their jobs sustained in football by the Government handout.

Impact across all codes

Last week the AFL Players Association struck a deal with the AFL for players to take a pay cut of 50 per cent to the end of May and more if postponements continued.

But the new JobKeeper announcement could draw them back to the negotiating table.

With more teams and more players per list than the NRL, the AFL stands to gain even more than the NRL from the JobKeeper announcement — as much as $13 million.

The deal last week included the cancellation of more than $8 million in payments to player injury, hardship, wellbeing and other funds managed by the players association.

The AFL Players Association already intended to work with the AFL on coronavirus-prompted changes to its bargaining agreement, which was due to expire at the end of 2022.

"While the current CBA (collective bargaining agreement) doesn't expire until the end of 2022, the AFLPA and AFL will work through the implications of COVID-19 on the remaining two years of the deal once we have a greater understanding of the financial impact," a spokesperson said.

A-League players stood down by clubs such as Perth Glory and Central Coast Mariners may also be eligible for the payment.

John Didulica, chief executive of Professional Footballers Australia, said based on information released so far players would be entitled to JobKeeper payments, which was "fantastic news".

It is not clear whether A-League players becoming free agents over the off-season — close to half the workforce — could also benefit.

"One of the challenges is the players, or the employees, must be in continuous employment for a further six months," Mr Didulica said.

"In the case of the A-League, all contracts conclude on the 31st of May each year, so if any player doesn't have a contract for next season, they may well be precluded."

Hans Westerbeek, professor of international sport business at Victoria University, said the coronavirus downturn would affect second-tier sports more than the AFL or NRL, bringing down revenue and forcing players onto cheaper arrangements.

And he added women's leagues — although booming recently — would suffer more than their male counterparts.

"I do think that those relatively young, immature businesses will suffer most because that's where you immediately cut your costs," he said.

"You reinvest your excess resources in bringing up to speed your cash cows — the businesses that are very mature and have a guaranteed return on investment — before you then start reinvesting in your emerging and newly developing businesses."

Paul Smith, owner of the basketball club Sydney Kings through his company Total Sport and Entertainment, said all sports would have to revisit their bargaining arrangements in coming years.

"There'll be a lot of interesting times in the next CBA negotiations — for all the sports — including whether a league even exists."

In the NBL, he said player salaries don't have room to fall if the downturn was prolonged.

"How do I look at a guy on $55,000 per year, you're a minimum player for us and, by the way, next year you're going to get 50 per cent of that, so you're going to get $25,000 to play for us?

"I couldn't do that … I wouldn't do it."