During 2009, the SARPA Exco resolved to form Sarpacom (Pty) Ltd (a private company owned by the professional rugby players of South Africa) to manage, structure and protect the Collective Commercial Rights of all the professional rugby players in South Africa. Since the inception of rugby as a professional sport the Collective Commercial Rights of players were not recognised in all instances as a tradeable asset and as a result underdeveloped. The appropriate management of these rights have the potential of generating additional revenue to all players, enhance the exclusivity (commercial value) and prevent the unauthorised use of these rights.

What is Collective Commercial Right?
A Collective Commercial Right is described as the use of Player Attributes and or Appearances in a Team Context for commercial purposes/gain. To form a proper understanding of the aforementioned description it is important that the meaning of Player Attributes, Appearances and Team Context is dealt with individually. Player Attributes – means name, nicknames, image, signature, biological information, voices etc of the players. Appearances – means any promotional appearance performed by a player for commercial gain. An Appearance or use of Player Attributes for charity and welfare are not regarded to be for commercial gain. Team Context – means where Player Attributes and/or Appearances are depicted together with the intellectual property of a union OR where Player Attributes and/or Appearances are used in a group of three or more players.

Source of Collective Commercial Rights
Collective Commercial Rights are derived from the contribution of each individual that contributes to the team performance on and off the field. The commercial demand for the Collective Commercial Rights is therefore created by the performance of the team. Collective Commercial Rights are owned by the team collectively and not by any one individual player. The Collective Commercial Rights should be managed in such a way that it will add value to the intellectual property of the union and vice versa.

What is the difference between Collective Commercial Rights and Individual Commercial Rights of players?
Individual Commercial Rights are generally defined as the use of Player Attributes and/or Appearances in a group of not more than two players and without the intellectual property of the union. Individual Commercial Rights are created, owned and managed by the player or his agent/manager.

How are Collective Commercial Rights currently used?
Currently players are not receiving any formal or direct form of compensation for the use of their Collective Commercial Rights. Previously there were no structures to secure, manage and safeguard these rights. In addition thereto, no formal policies were developed on the commercial use of the Collective Commercial Rights. In 2007, SARPA initiated a process in terms whereof the necessary structures and policies would be developed to ensure best practice will be applied going forward. In 2009, a National Team Players Trust was registered to formally manage the Collective Commercial Rights of the National Team. Sarpacom is currently negotiating the principles on how these rights will be used by the South African Rugby Union and other third parties in future. The Exco of SARPA resolved in 2009 to form similar trust structures on a provincial level and that Sarpacom will facilitate discussions with the provincial unions on the use and management of these rights in future.

Why Players Trust is used to house Collective Commercial Rights?
The Players Trust is a legal entity with the capability of protecting the unauthorised use of the Collective Commercial Rights. The trust is an elegant structure with no major costs, it is managed by the players in their capacity as trustees and the trust structure makes provision for the ever changing nature of the beneficiaries (players moving between unions and or retiring). By using the trust structure the trustees can retrospectively determine the overall contribution each player made during a season and remunerate such player accordingly.

SARPACOM (Pty) Ltd
Sarpacom is a private company owned and managed by the professional rugby players of South Africa. The rationale is that the professional rugby players will establish their own business unit for the purposes of managing their Collective Commercial Rights. The players, via the SARPA Executive Committee, appointed the following board members to manage the executive functions of Sarpacom on a daily basis: Tony Irish (CEO of South African Cricketers Association and former Board member of Cricket South Africa), Piet Heymans (CEO of SARPA, former Board member of SA Rugby), Eugene Henning (attorney with financial structuring, private equity and commercial experience), Victor Matfield (representative of National Players Trust) and Bryan Habana (representative of Provincial Players Trust). Sarpacom will manage the various player trusts and maintain a transparent policy with board minutes and audited financials to be made available to the players.

The main functions and objectives of Sarpacom are:

- To develop sustainable commercial policies and principles for the use of the Collective Commercial Rights;
- To safeguard these rights and prevent unauthorised usage thereof;
- To manage the various player trusts by advising the trustees and assist them in fulfilling their fiduciary duties;
- To market and maximise the commercial value of these rights.
- Oversee and execute administrative functions of player trusts.