There is another blog that has touched on Tino's offer from the bulldogs, but it dosnt tell the whole story and why it impacts teams like the Eels, nor why its becoming harder and harder to compete for the best playing talent, when these deals are being green lit by the NRL and do not form part of the Salary Cap.
Happy to delete this if people think its a double up.
The Canterbury Bulldogs have made an offer to Gold Coast Titans captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, with a $4 million contract and a share in a pub.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the Bulldogs have offered the Titans skipper a monster deal which also gets around the salary cap.
The Laundy family, who are the Bulldogs’ major sponsors, own 30 pubs across New South Wales and have reportedly been in contact with NRL chief Andrew Abdo about seeking approval for the deal.
Arthur Laundy, the owner of Laundy Hotels, wants to get creative and “lure them in with a deal that no-one else can do.”
The Way it works - Tino gets his $4 million on the cap deal from the bulldogs he uses that money or portions of, to buy shares in a pub, direct from Arthur Laundy. These shares are not on an open market they are a private sale between two people. Arthur Laundy is then guaranteeing a return of 10 - 12% minimum and if there is any problem in attaining that he guarentees to buy the shares back personally. So there is no risk in Tino buying the shares nor gaining a profit at the end.
The NRL have approved these types of schemes before, just last year with Melbourne and Melbourne players off contract. ie Munster was able to puchase shares in gaming company Betr which the deal was directly set up by Storm chairman Matt Tripp and approved by the NRL / Abdo. These shares were not available to others not playing for the storm. Just like the pub shares and the guarentee of returns are not available to any one else not playing for the bulldogs.
The well known other clubs to use these NRL sanctioned schemes include Easts, Souths and Brisbane.
Our club the Eels do not employ these types of external deals since our overhauled governance re-structure. " I'm not sure if we even have private benefactors that could offer these deals". It puts us and teams like us at a massive disadvantage. A disadvantage that is only going to become more and more pronounced as the teams with large private benefactors and the approval from the NRL to literally circumvent the salary cap, they can buy the best talent for years to come with impunity , resulting in an uneven battleground of player recruitment and payments.
I'm not sure the NRL are getting this right, allowing special deals and guarenteed investment returns that others cant access, if they play for a certain club. It smells like a direct way of cheating the cap to me and the NRL are sanctioning it. I dont understand how this promotes an even competition and an even playing field that the salary cap was supposed to ensure. It will scew and bend what teams spend on each position. Some teams are now able to offer so much more for a certain position or player then other teams. It will in the not too distnt future become the haves and the have nots.
Is it time to scrap the salary cap perhaps. Whilst Mr V'Landys and Abdo are now just beginning to allow the big end of town to guarentee extra money for the best players to play for certain clubs , they are also ensuring the slow death of other clubs and perhaps even the NRL as we know it. Fans flock to winning clubs and winning teams, if these payments are allowed to continue and expand, the fans will be the ones that turn away if their team is not competive for an extended time. Allowing teams like Roosters/ Broncos and now the Bulldogs to recruit representative players at will, using these extra payment methods is surely unfair and not wanted by the majority of fans.
One must ask why are the NRL sanctioning these types of deals. Im scratching my head to understand why, it certainly gives a perception that some teams and their busienss benefactors are being looked after a lot more then other teams. It may not be some peoples reality it may just be a perception. Either way I believe it stinks. These deals are only going to get bigger and more and more of them now that the NRL , V'landys and Abdo are green lighting them. Have your say.
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If this happens, salaries should be made public. The only reason players refuse is due to the fact that they will be caught on doing deals on the side that is it.
Its appearing that the side deals are now being approved by the NRL. The field so to speak in player payments has shifted. The Broncos have already got a team full of representative players, the Roosters are not far behind, and both are still in the hunt for more. What will this do to a competive competion next year and the next,
Broncos do as god forbid they're a bad franchise.
Do you think if Dylan Brown could buy shares in the Golden Sheaf, he would have signed for less money? LOL
If the profit is being guaranteed how is that not on the cap?
exactly Muttman, thats why this deal shifts everything we know about the way the cap is supposed to work. The roosters do the same with unit investments at discounted rates for players that sign for them and also access to reduced investment loan rates through their benefactors. All green lit by NRL.
I dont understand why V'Landys / Abdo are allowing these deals in these formats. They are direct schemes to circumvent the salary cap and induce players to play at that club. Im lost in understanding why, they are being green lit.
Correct, what if they say profit will be let's say 10% when if fact it's 40% or you buy shares off me for 1mill then after a month I'll buy em back off you for 1.5mill. It's a complete rort.
exactly Analyst, the difference this time its a sanctioned rort. or at least the smell of sanctioned rorts. Its the appearence of breaching the cap that will hurt fans and hurt the game in the long run. My question and one we should or be concerned about it why are they green lighting these types of deals.
Didn't the Cowboys do this at some point in time with property investments?
Pretty sure Thurston ended up with a couple of houses as part of his contract deal.
Yup and so did the Titans with Scott Prince if I'm correct . We can't really talk though , Spagnolo paid 500 bucks too much for Fuis car cause it had subwoofers . Even our Salary cap scandal was pathetic and pretty much a witch hunt when you break it down . Our scandal wasn't even on par with the tactics that the NRL sign off on with outlier clubs .
This offer going by the salary cap laws should be 100% loaded onto their cap as the rules state that no 3rd party deal can be on the condition that Tino plays for Canterbury . So what the NRL needs to say to Mr Laundy , is if Tino plays elsewhere or stays at the Goldy Will he guarantee this payment to Tino all the same ? And if he says no then the deal is denied .
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