The serious threat of taking $80 million off the table in the NRL's pay offer to players resulted in an 11th-hour agreement between chief executive Todd Greenberg and Rugby League Players' Union chief Ian Prendergast to reduce the salary cap in the final two years of the proposed CBA in exchange for the funds being diverted to a players' retirement fund.

A phone hook up of NRL clubs on Wednesday agreed to a RLPA plan to reduce the salary cap by $100,000 in 2021 to $9.6 million and drop it by a further $200,000 in 2022 to $9.7 million.

The money would be paid into a fund accessed by footballers forced into early retirement by injury and the change would not affect club margins, being a shift from the salary cap to the retired players' pool.

The NRL is still awaiting approval from the players and the board of the RLPA, while club chief executives must take the proposal to their club boards.