The Roosters have been way over the cap for a few years & Fittle even hinted that when the dogs were busted & booted out of the comp.
He was shut up by his management then, as they have a loophole that they and many other clubs exploit.
How the Bronco's get around it is to buy a business for the player which is seperate to the visible contract.
Then they pay someone to manage that business & build it up, and that creates an opportunity for the footballer to have something when they retire.
Also being a one club city, sponsors are easier to find.
The prob with the dogs, is the sponsors they have are big names who would also like to sign invidiuals to promote their products. That makes it difficult due to the surrent rules for people the calibre of Sonny Bill Williams (Gatorade / Schweppes) where that salary has to be discolsed as a part of the cap.
However it looks like there is about to be a rule change on that which allows 2 players to be exempt from that from each club. Just remember that our team's club will not be the only club to make use of this exemption.