More money for the Boks
Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:12
John Smit won't be leading the Boks.
The Springboks will be paid a pretty sum for the use of their images by the South African Rugby Union and their sponsors.
In a deal struck this week the South African Rugby Players Association (SARPA, which represents the contracted players in South Africa) announced jointly with the SARU the ground-breaking deal between the Springbok Players' Trust and the national body.
In terms of the agreement, SARU will obtain the right to utilise the image rights of the Springbok players in a team context and in conjunction with the intellectual property of SARU for purposes of its commercial program.
The new arrangement – the first of its kind in rugby – ends months of negotiation and crucially clarifies commercial access by SARU and sponsors to the image rights of Springbok players.
"Initial discussions with SARU to adopt a new model for use of the image rights of the players in a team context were initiated by SARPA in
2007," SARPA CEO Piet Heymans said.
"Various commercial and practical sensitivities had to be overcome before the parties could enter into formal negotiations. Formal negotiations started during 2009 and have now been concluded," Heymans added.
"The players ceded their image rights to a Players' Trust at the start of the 2009, removing them from their Springbok contracts," explained Jan Marais, chairman of the Executive Council of SARU.
"We then entered into a long negotiation about what SARU would pay them for using their image rights in executing our sponsorship deals and I'm happy to say that we have now come to an amicable arrangement that will benefit both parties by allowing SARU to honour its commercial commitments and in rewarding the players for using their images in advertisements and for making personal appearances."
Marias said: "We have agreed upon a certain amount per appearance by players. Sponsors pay for an association with the Springbok team but there are faces that go with the team and we are now able to ensure that we can give them those faces."
The players' trust will also be paid a lump sum for the use of their images in sponsorship activations.
"This is a new departure and clarifies what was a complicated relationship based on assumption and expectation in the past," said Andy Marinos, SARU manger of national teams.
"We're now in the happy position that both the players and SARU know exactly where they stand and we can confidently deliver on the rights that have been granted to our commercial partners. The long-term expectation is that both the Union and players will benefit from the arrangement."
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