That further adds substance to my query.
How do you reckon Dib/Des/Rae thought they would manage to get out of a 13 million roster with the salary cap auditor?
And pls list the roster and money apportioned to each so we can add it up to 13 million.
We need proof, not personal opinions.
Hasler's thinking was that he could back end contracts, win a premiership thereby increasing the value of the players and then move them on before their high paying years kicked in. Unfortunately we didn't win a premiership, the value of the players didn't go up, other clubs weren't willing to pay the back ended contract rates and so the players simply stayed to get their due contract value. Keeping in mid that they took a pay cut in the early years and then were fully entitled to the pay back in the later years.
When you have a player like Eastwood (not picking on Greg in any way) for example on $350k in year 1, $600k in year 2 and $850k in year 3, the idea was to win a premiership in year 1 or 2, then move him on and not have to pay the $850k in year 3. When he was on $350k we were OK in the cap, but when he was on $600k we had to "save" $250k to stay under the Cap. Which means moving on say $500k of talent and replacing it with $250k of cheapies (net reduction $250k) because we still had to have 30 players. Then in the 3rd year we have to do the same again, to get another net reduction of $250k. Keeping in mind that "cheapies" had to be recruited from other clubs because there was no junior development.
Of course that's just a simplistic example of one player pushing us in the 3rd year to be $500k over the Cap but when you have 8 or 9 other players like we had, on heavily back ended contracts, the problem multiples. Then they all decide not to move on and/or no one wanted them at their back ended rate, plus there is a limit as to how many cheapies that there are willing to move clubs for a $100k (minimum) contract.
As best I have been able to establish that the following were on back ended contracts of some rate (in brackets 1st year rate versus last year rate) Mbye ($250k), BMorris ($250k), JMorris ($200k), Reynolds ($250k) Hopoate ($300k), Foran ($400k), Woods ($350k), Tolman ($300k), Eastwood ($500k) and Holland ($150k). Add it up and the last year under the Cap compared to the first year under the Cap is ~$3.1m extra.
Hasler never thought he would have to face a Cap audit on the back ended contracts, he thought he could move players on at the appropriate times and stay under the cap.
There is another kicker, when you are desperate to move a player on to avoid the later years contract lift you often have to pay part of that excessive rate to get another club to take them. Triple whammy, you don't have the player AND you are paying the excessive contract in your Cap AND you have to recruit a cheapy to make up the 30.
This is why the NRL banned front and back loaded contracts, as the number of clubs doing it was on the rise there was the risk of multiple clubs getting stuck being over their Caps. Not a good look.
"Proof", good luck with that, but I think you will find at least half of the above back ended contracts have been reported by a number of media outlets.
Always a Bulldog
