I think the issue is that people really don't understand what the Cap is these days and just how much salaries have changed so quickly in the last 5 years. Ive spoken to someone at another club about this a few times and how its structured by teams over a 1-5 year period.
Gone are the days where a team could afford maybe one or two 1mil+ players. Most teams also structure their cap very differently these days. Teams either take a top heavy approach with 5 or 6 players on 900k+ (like Souths or Manly) or more balanced with most of the roster on 600-800k (like us, Sharks or Dogs). How teams do it is just based on their personnel, luck with gun juniors and ability to recruit the best of the best.
Most agents and players are now are pushing for contracts based on a % of the cap rather than a specific number like (800k one year and 850k the next) because of the massive jump in the cap lately and the extra 24million coming into the market from expansion teams, creating more demand and higher prices. Thats why its so beneficial to sign players like Twal etc on 3-4 year extensions with the same salary each year now, because his 450k in 2026 is 3.75-4% of the total cap, but in 2030 his 450k will probably only be a 2.75-3% cap hit. It saves money and cap room in the long run. Especially with contracts in that lower to mid tier range, because they're easier to flip to other teams or super league if the player stops performing.
I find that most the comments on here when a player signs for say 800k are along the lines of "hes not worth 800K! hes worth 650k max". However the 800k is essentially the same amount (%) on the cap as 650k was in 2023. People just simply don't understand the cap and how much the dollar amounts are worth as a percentage on the cap.
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