NRL CEO Todd Greenberg announces sudden resignation
Under-fire NRL CEO Todd Greenberg has stepped down from his role effective immediately.
The chief executive’s position has been a topic of hot discussion even before the current shutdown brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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On Monday afternoon, however, Greenberg officially ended his four-year reign as NRL chief executive.
The 49-year-old stood down with the NRL claiming it was with "mutual agreement" after "reflecting on the needs of the game".
He will be replaced by chief commercial officer Andrew Abdo in the interim as part of the first big shake-up of the Peter V'landys era.
Under pressure to keep his job for the past month, Greenberg's exit comes after meetings between broadcasters and the NRL about the competition's structure.
Greenberg had come under fire from the game's free-to-air broadcaster Nine Network earlier this month, when it accused the league of financial mismanagement.
"It has been my great honour and privilege to be the CEO of the NRL for the last four years," Greenberg said in a statement.
"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.
"I am indebted to the game for the variety of opportunities and experiences that have been provided to my family and I, and we leave with many great memories and life long friendships.”
Todd Greenberg ends tumultuous tenure at the top
Greenberg will not take up another role in the NRL, with his involvement in the sport ending on Monday.
The former boss of Canterbury, Greenberg became the NRL's head of football in 2013 before he took over the reins in 2016.
His first major challenge came in the form of Parramatta's salary-cap scandal, while off-field behaviour proved his biggest test until coronavirus.
However, even before the competition was postponed last month, rumours had began to surface of frustration from clubs towards Greenberg with his contract up for renewal in 2020.
He was last week kept out of NRL meetings with Nine while there were significant questions around head office expenditure in recent years.
Greenberg had vowed to lead the charge on fixing those issues in an email to staff as late as last week, before his stint was abruptly ended.
"The role of Chief Executive of the NRL is one of the most challenging and difficult roles in Australian sport, with a diversity of passionate stakeholders," ARL Commission chairman V'landys said in a statement.
"ARLC thanks Todd for his contribution to the game over the last seven years and as Chief Executive for the last four years."
Greenberg criticised over the way NRL was run
Speculation around Greenberg's future as CEO ramped up when he wasn't offered a new contract in February.
The outgoing CEO says he was left disappointed by the attack from Channel Nine and insists broadcasters have been included in discussions over the NRL's proposed restart next month.
He insisted broadcasters had been part of the discussion as the NRL plans for what best suits all parties when the competition resumes on May 28.
"I've heard a couple of times that we have had no consultation with broadcasters. I can tell you categorically that's not true," Greenberg insisted.
"I have met with all three broadcasters in the past two weeks, and that includes Nine, Foxtel and (international rights holder) Sky TV.
"All of them have been in consultation with us the whole way through leading into these Project Apollo meetings and the concept of the structure of the tournament."
"Those discussions I think we should have together behind closed doors.
"The negotiations will get a bit robust and they are already a bit robust.
"What's clear is every business and every business model is under pressure as we are going through this health crisis.
"Revenue is falling in virtually everyone's business. Broadcasters and clubs and players and the game are no different."
Nine's attack came over the what they claimed was a misuse of funds by head office, as well as reported frustration they were not involved in the Project Apollo discussions to restart the competition.
The network have also claimed their television contract had been unfulfilled by the code, and told the stock exchange they could save up to $130 million if the NRL was cancelled for 2020.
Greenberg also defended the game against criticism it was trying to restart too early during the pandemic.
"If there are ways you can keep the industry going but ensure the safety of the people in that industry, and the broader public aren't compromised, I think that's a good thing," Greenberg said.
"We won't take any risks along the way (but) I don't think we should be sitting around waiting for someone to tell us when it's right.
"We have got to push our way forward and try and find a way to get the game back on."
with AAP
