Council of war over Parramatta Eels third-party agreements
Date
July 25, 2015 - 8:00PM
Daniel Lane
Sports reporter & Video journalist
The fallout from reports that Parramatta City Council had considered bankrolling a $75,000 third-party agreement for the Parramatta Eels for Tim Mannah, William Hopoate and Nathan Peats meant the proposal would most likely be scuttled after backlash from the community and some councillors.
While there was nothing illegal about the proposal - although the idea of topping up the wages of highly paid athletes was always going to incite anger from rate payers - the council controversy was the last thing the Eels needed in a week where the club's murky third-party agreements were put under the microscope by a Fairfax Media investigation published on Friday.
The council was expected to discuss a memorandum of understanding between them and the Eels to enter into a non-binding legal partnership with the club to work on community initiatives that would contain no financial implications to rate payers.
However, a memo sent to the Lord Mayor and councillors on March 20 by Rebecca Grasso, director of marketing and city identity, detailed a proposal to pay three first graders $25,000 each to act as ambassadors for the council.
It was expected to be mentioned in general business at Monday's meeting before councillor Pierre Esber told 2GB radio's Ray Hadley about it on Friday.
Esber revealed the council was preparing to pay $75,000 to players on lucrative contracts and when Hadley asked whether he'd read the three-page report in The Sydney Morning Herald detailing Parramatta's third-party deals Esber replied that he hadn't.
A Parramatta council spokesperson contacted Fairfax Media on Friday to say Esber's information was incorrect and no one knew what he had based his claim on.
On Saturday Fairfax Media received copies of Grasso's memos detailing the proposed arrangements, which offered Mannah, Hopoate and Peats what were described as "Third Party Agreements" where it suggested the payment structure put to the player's management was: "Third Party Agreement for each Player, paid in two installations - 50% at commencement of the TPA and 50% at the half way mark of the TPA."
Parramatta council has defended itself by saying it had acted upon a request by one of the councillors to look at forming a relationship with the Eels. In the early stages of negotiations in 2014 it was suggested by Parramatta's football operation's manager Daniel Anderson that Jarryd Hayne should be among the three players to benefit from any financial agreement.
Hayne was replaced by Mannah when he severed ties with the NRL to trial for a contract with the San Francisco 49ers NFL franchise.
On Friday a source who would not be named said while the MoU on the agenda for Monday night's meeting was about arrangements between the council and the Eels, they said of the $75,000 "if someone in council is dumb enough [to raise the money Esber mentioned on 2GB] they'll do it".
On Saturday Fairfax Media was told there was little chance of the sponsorship taking place in light of Parramatta's previous third-party arrangements and community outrage.
Fairfax Media understands some councillors are uncomfortable with the proposed arrangement but only one, independent councillor Lorraine Wearne, was prepared to go on the record to offer her personal opinion, when she said on Friday she would oppose the program.
"If our council is going to give them $75,000 to a player - direct to a player - the ambassadorship is not to the club," she said. "I would suggest to you there'll be justifiable questions about the salary cap if my colleagues were silly enough to vote that we become involved in something like that."
