More than 100 NRL players, will be forced to buy their own boots this year amid COVID-19 cutbacks from sports giants including Nike, according to the Daily Telegraph.<\/p>\n
As the start of the 2021 season rapidly approaches, News Corp reports that some leading companies have cut "product in kind" sponsorships by more than 50 per cent in a move that will see players, including State of Origin stars, fork out around $400 for a pair of boots.<\/p>\n
Nike's top-of-the-range boot is the Phantom GT Elite custom which retails for $410 while the Adidas Predator Freak retails for $400.<\/p>\n
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Marquee stars such as James Tedesco and Jason Taumalolo are still expected to receive the latest in sports apparel for the upcoming season, but the rest of the NRL's run-of-the-mill cohort will have to front the cost this year.<\/p>\n
A leading player-manager told the Daily Telegraph that a State of Origin player on his books had been denied a product deal with a leading company.<\/p>\n
"Even Origin players are being knocked back," the manager told News Corp.<\/p>\n
"There have been some massive cutbacks with one company going from 120 NRL players to 40. That was two-thirds of their NRL roster. I know it is a similar situation with the other big companies. I lot of guys have been flicked and we have been scrambling to sort them out."<\/p>\n
Both Nike and Addidas have refused to confirm nor deny the development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"