The State of Origin series remains the NRL's main weapon in Australia's battle of the sporting codes, but the 34 players who will play in Brisbane next Wednesday night will only earn a tiny slice of the cash generated by the big-ticket event.

The Origin representatives will each receive $20,000 for the match, a tiny figure when compared to some of the million-dollar salaries handed out to those cricketers currently in India for the IPL.

The differences in player income across the nation's major sports was a hot topic of discussion at the annual CEO sports lunch in Sydney on Thursday.

Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland, who is yet to wrap up a new pay agreement with the Australian Cricketers' Association, made it clear just how much the IPL has changed the landscape.

"For six weeks work in IPL, the numbers are just extraordinary," Sutherland said.

"People are getting well over $1 million for six weeks, it's phenomenal."

In comparison, outgoing Queensland captain Darren Lockyer will pocket just $60,000 for the three weeks he spends in camp for Origin.

The series is the NRL's dependable money spinner, with sell-out crowds and impressive TV ratings the norm.

NRL CEO David Gallop said the extra money needed to be spread across the game.

"You need to constantly remind your players that these big games, these big gate receipts, be they finals or rep games, they are funding the rest of the year," Gallop told the audience.

"We don't make money from that many other revenue streams ... we need these games to help fund our grass roots programs."

"When Darren Lockyer started playing (Origin) he would have been getting about $5000 per game, so there's been that trend of recognition and we're all endeavouring to reward the players for the show they put on."

Australian Rugby Union CEO John O'Neill said the average annual salary of an Australian Super Rugby player was $225,000, a figure bettered by the AFL.

"We've got about 750 players and the average earnings would be about $240,000, the highest-paid player would be earning about $1 million," AFL boss Andrew Demetriou said.

O'Neill and Sutherland suggested their respective players earned 26 per cent of the income available, but Demetriou once again baulked at the AFLPA's current push for a fixed percentage of the AFL's revenue.

"I don't believe in it (a set ratio of income that should go to players)," he said.

"Players are entitled to their share of what the game generates, they are the key stakeholder."

"You can't please everybody, and the hardest thing we (sports administrators) do is balancing the expectations of all our stakeholders."

"I'm confident we'll get that balance right again because there's enough to go around, but not everyone gets what they want."

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