The injury crisis is not just hurting us on the field this year, it is actually going to seriously affect us next year and we are already seeing the signs of that.
With the scale of injuries and more importantly the length of time players are off the field (Galloway, Moltzen, Ayshford, Lawrence etc) we are having to blood many young players to fill the gaps (Buchanan, Sefumanufangai, Spence, Sue, Sironen etc.). Most of these young players are on match payment incentivised agreements that are usually in the area of $2k-$3k per game they play. Every dollar they earn from these payments is calculated in a team's salary cap the FOLLOWING YEAR.
So for instance if Buchanan, Sefumanufangai, Spence, Sue and Sironen to use as an example played 10 games each this year (10 x $3,000 = $30,000 x 5 players = $150,000). That is $150,000 out of next year's cap before a ball is kicked. Add to this most of these type of players will have a clause in their agreements that state if they play 'x' number of games they receive a contract upgrade. That may cost another $50,000-$100,000 across these same five players. All of a sudden we are at potentially $250,000 out of the cap.
You would probably find that players such as Utai, Reddy, Bell and these kind of 'journeyman' players would also have match payment bonuses (about $1500) or a contract bonus triggered by a numba of games played.
The issue this will cause for the Tiges is that at this early stage of the season it is hard to predict how many games these fringe players will play and what this will mean for next year's salary cap. From a recruitment point of view this makes it hard to go out and buy certain players as you really don't know what you are playing with.
A clean-out is also not necessarily the best option as you will end up paying a percentage of each player's salary even though they are not there putting further strain on the salary cap and recruitment.
Many people wonder how clubs such as Roosters, Bulldogs and Storm continue to get players, each case is a little different:
* Roosters: They pre-paid a percentage of Maloney's contract from last year's cap. Effectively they had Maloney 'on the books' last year. With regards to Jennings, O'Donnell they picked them up in the pre-season so their existing teams will be still paying a percentage of their contract, but more importantly they will have them on a staggered contract where they could realistically be playing on the Roosters cap for as little as $50,000 each this year. It is a shrewd approach, but also means that from time to time you will have poor seasons taking this approach. As we have seen with the Roosters they can easily finish at the top of the ladder and then slide back down as their cap becomes tight in coming seasons. They are effectively trying to 'buy a comp' in a two-year period and then live off this for a few years to come before starting the cycle again. They will also top up many of these 'small' deals with third party money driven by their high-powered board.
* Bulldogs: Third Party Money. Its that simple. The Bulldogs fund the majority of their players on third party agreements to supplement reduced 'on the cap' salaries. Because of the wealth of the Bulldogs Leagues Club and their financial commitments to the Football Club, the Bulldogs can re-direct prospective corporate partners money to players instead of going into the club's P&L. This is why the Bulldogs Football Club loses around $3-4million per season. The club would provide to a third party sponsor 'free' corporate boxes, appearances, tickets etc. and would take this on as a club cost whilst the player receives the cash. They reportedly have many members of the Board of Directors who are actively chasing these deals amongst businesses every day. Its a nice position to be in, but WT don't have the financial luxury of the leages clubs backing them to this extent.
* Storm: You cannot doubt their great culture and ability to build a team around their key players - there is no dancing around this, they have a great system away from the spotlight of Sydney and Brisbane media that ensures they build the best footballers. They do also however pick up many players in the pre-season at a bargain (when other teams are under salary cap pressure) or mid–season when players who are not getting a start or their team is under cap pressure need to let them go. Many of these are signed to their second tier salary cap. Again they are also backed by very successful Melbourne businessmen who 'legally' these days still contribute significant amounts to their players to reduce actual salaries. Storm are also still benefiting from the salary cap scandal. For years they were able to recruit the best junior players and bring them through the system. Many of these juniors are still in the system and are coming through now. Don't be fooled, they have juniors signed up all over the place particularly in NZ and Qld where they warehouse juniors for years. They could on most occasions double the best offer from another club for good talent. This is as important as signing big names – they are basically signing players, picking who to keep and then bringing them into their 20's and NRL. They also invest in a huge web of scouts that other clubs just can't afford.
The most important part of recruitment is third party money, simple as that. It should be the focus of the board and the club to find the money to complement the big player salaries. Other than that you can't compete.
With the scale of injuries and more importantly the length of time players are off the field (Galloway, Moltzen, Ayshford, Lawrence etc) we are having to blood many young players to fill the gaps (Buchanan, Sefumanufangai, Spence, Sue, Sironen etc.). Most of these young players are on match payment incentivised agreements that are usually in the area of $2k-$3k per game they play. Every dollar they earn from these payments is calculated in a team's salary cap the FOLLOWING YEAR.
So for instance if Buchanan, Sefumanufangai, Spence, Sue and Sironen to use as an example played 10 games each this year (10 x $3,000 = $30,000 x 5 players = $150,000). That is $150,000 out of next year's cap before a ball is kicked. Add to this most of these type of players will have a clause in their agreements that state if they play 'x' number of games they receive a contract upgrade. That may cost another $50,000-$100,000 across these same five players. All of a sudden we are at potentially $250,000 out of the cap.
You would probably find that players such as Utai, Reddy, Bell and these kind of 'journeyman' players would also have match payment bonuses (about $1500) or a contract bonus triggered by a numba of games played.
The issue this will cause for the Tiges is that at this early stage of the season it is hard to predict how many games these fringe players will play and what this will mean for next year's salary cap. From a recruitment point of view this makes it hard to go out and buy certain players as you really don't know what you are playing with.
A clean-out is also not necessarily the best option as you will end up paying a percentage of each player's salary even though they are not there putting further strain on the salary cap and recruitment.
Many people wonder how clubs such as Roosters, Bulldogs and Storm continue to get players, each case is a little different:
* Roosters: They pre-paid a percentage of Maloney's contract from last year's cap. Effectively they had Maloney 'on the books' last year. With regards to Jennings, O'Donnell they picked them up in the pre-season so their existing teams will be still paying a percentage of their contract, but more importantly they will have them on a staggered contract where they could realistically be playing on the Roosters cap for as little as $50,000 each this year. It is a shrewd approach, but also means that from time to time you will have poor seasons taking this approach. As we have seen with the Roosters they can easily finish at the top of the ladder and then slide back down as their cap becomes tight in coming seasons. They are effectively trying to 'buy a comp' in a two-year period and then live off this for a few years to come before starting the cycle again. They will also top up many of these 'small' deals with third party money driven by their high-powered board.
* Bulldogs: Third Party Money. Its that simple. The Bulldogs fund the majority of their players on third party agreements to supplement reduced 'on the cap' salaries. Because of the wealth of the Bulldogs Leagues Club and their financial commitments to the Football Club, the Bulldogs can re-direct prospective corporate partners money to players instead of going into the club's P&L. This is why the Bulldogs Football Club loses around $3-4million per season. The club would provide to a third party sponsor 'free' corporate boxes, appearances, tickets etc. and would take this on as a club cost whilst the player receives the cash. They reportedly have many members of the Board of Directors who are actively chasing these deals amongst businesses every day. Its a nice position to be in, but WT don't have the financial luxury of the leages clubs backing them to this extent.
* Storm: You cannot doubt their great culture and ability to build a team around their key players - there is no dancing around this, they have a great system away from the spotlight of Sydney and Brisbane media that ensures they build the best footballers. They do also however pick up many players in the pre-season at a bargain (when other teams are under salary cap pressure) or mid–season when players who are not getting a start or their team is under cap pressure need to let them go. Many of these are signed to their second tier salary cap. Again they are also backed by very successful Melbourne businessmen who 'legally' these days still contribute significant amounts to their players to reduce actual salaries. Storm are also still benefiting from the salary cap scandal. For years they were able to recruit the best junior players and bring them through the system. Many of these juniors are still in the system and are coming through now. Don't be fooled, they have juniors signed up all over the place particularly in NZ and Qld where they warehouse juniors for years. They could on most occasions double the best offer from another club for good talent. This is as important as signing big names – they are basically signing players, picking who to keep and then bringing them into their 20's and NRL. They also invest in a huge web of scouts that other clubs just can't afford.
The most important part of recruitment is third party money, simple as that. It should be the focus of the board and the club to find the money to complement the big player salaries. Other than that you can't compete.
