Australia's cricketers have been warned cricket is at risk of falling into the same hole as rugby if players do not give up the revenue-share model.
The blunt warning was issued at a meeting fronted by Cricket Australia's chief negotiator Kevin Roberts, team performance boss Pat Howard and Cricket NSW chief Andrew Jones.
Fairfax Media has learned players were told cricket was at risk of becoming the next rugby and argued the incredible growth of the AFL and rugby league was because those codes did not have a revenue-share model.
Rugby has plunged into crisis with interest waning due to the Wallabies' poor on-field performance, dwindling participation numbers and the strength of other football codes.
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CA's latest bid to end the deadlock in the pay dispute met only a "lukewarm" reception among the players, who remain committed to fighting for the retention of the pay structure introduced in 1997.
While CA have said they remain committed to finding a resolution before the current memorandum of understanding expires on June 30, industry sources have indicated it's highly unlikely an agreement will be reached in time.
While cricket's pay discussions have stalled, the AFL and its players this week confirmed a new six-year, $1.84 billion pay deal .
The AFL's new collective bargaining agreement is the latest battleground between cricket's warring parties, with both sides issuing statements on Wednesday using it to strengthen their case.
CA are saying the AFL bargaining process was evidence the revenue-share model being pushed by players needs to be changed to a "profit share". CA wants players to accept a guaranteed payment plus a share in additional revenue after expenses.
"The AFL, with the agreement of its players, has rejected the funding model that currently exists within cricket. They understand that the fixed-percentage model is outdated, and hinders the sport," a CA spokesperson said.
"The AFL players, led by former Australian Cricketers' Association head Paul Marsh, have instead embraced a pay deal which is more closely aligned with the proposal that Cricket Australia has offered our elite players.
"The AFL deal demonstrates clearly that you do not need a player payments model based on a fixed percentage of revenue to be a successful sport that looks after all levels of the game, including grassroots, or to have an effective partnership with the players."
While the two sports have different economics, ACA chief Alistair Nicholson was quick to praise the AFL and AFL Players Association chief Marsh for "embracing the virtues" of a partnership.
"Partnership works – that's the message. And it's what the AFL and the AFLPA are starting to embrace. Players and administrators growing the game for everyone as partners is how to make a sport successful," Nicholson said on Wednesday.
"What these two parties are trying to achieve is what cricket has enjoyed for 20 years. I commend both Paul and Gillon [McLachlan, AFL CEO] for rolling up their sleeves and working towards a partnership-based outcome.
"The AFL is at a different stage of evolving the partnership than cricket. But what's clear is that this sense of co-operation is the way to go.
"And that this deal was also based on the AFLPA having access to the necessary financial information provides a telling message in their partnership approach."
If at least a tentative agreement on the major issues cannot be reached by June 30, players will be locked out. They have already begun discussing plans about staging a series of exhibition matches, involving Australian players such as skipper Steve Smith, David Warner and Mitchell Starc, and those state-based players without multi-year deals will be free agents.
The ACA and CA are expected to have more unofficial discussions this week, but rapid progress will be needed over the next nine days to get a deal done.