Benji Upgrade....

[magpiemax]

At the moment he is contracted till the end of next year.We are currently in the midst of upgrading Benji's contract.
And my mail has it that he is going to be offered an amount some where between the money he is on at the moment($40,000) and some ridiculous amount that friends of his have told him he should be getting.Something should be settled and announced soon regarding his contract upgrade, you will hear it most probably via Ten news(5p.m)in there sports segment sometime very soon I hope.

 

[Albo]

I think 70K is more than enough for him at the moment, giving him too much will make him a big head

 

[tigershaz]

I might upset some people by saying this....

By all means up grade his contract, but he is not worth the real big money yet, [-( one day he will be I'm sure. The club can't go too ridiculas, like I'm sure his (Benji's) friends might be suggesting.

As Tim Sheens has said, he is still a bit raw

 

[HappyTiger]

I would be suprised if he gets under 100k.He is an important part of where the team is now and i think he should be payed accordingly.By no means should he be payed according to his age.

 

[Albo]

Max - will Bronson be extended anytime soon?

 

[angry ant]

I believe he should stay on the same contract for this year and only increase it based on incentives (1st grade games played etc) for next year with most money waited towards another year or two after that.

I like the kid and think he has a big future but if we do significantly upgrade his contract now what does that say for the other young guys who are on next too nothing??

 

[gr8_1]

I would structure his contract so he earns more every year. Offer him say $450K over 3 years but structure it as :
$100K first year
$150K second year
$200K third year

Then have a option on his services beyond that at a guranteed salary of $250K-$300K per year.

It's going to be hard to keep all these young players at the club in the future. I just hope they show some loyalty to the club and thank it by signing on to repay them for the chance they have given them.

 

[magpiemax]

Max - will Bronson be extended anytime soon?

I did'nt ask.I think busting my mails chops 2 days in a row with questions is ample! I will ask next week if you want?

 

[simon says]

300k????WTF????

We already have his sgnature for 2005 and 2006????Why would we be paying him 300k?????

I love the bloke but he has played about ten games,and people are talking about paying him 300k.......I thinks thats crazy???

I understand you want him signed up for life,so do I,but I think calls for 300k are a little premature,and upgrade him for next year and the year after for sure.But promises of 200k when we have him for peanuts??????

Sheens is no dummy,if there is an upgrade it will come with repping and games played.And it wont be 200k.

Well thats my rant.Cheers.

 

[gr8_1]

300k????WTF????

We already have his sgnature for 2005 and 2006????Why would we be paying him 300k?????

I love the bloke but he has played about ten games,and people are talking about paying him 300k.......I thinks thats crazy???

I understand you want him signed up for life,so do I,but I think calls for 300k are a little premature,and upgrade him for next year and the year after for sure.But promises of 200k when we have him for peanuts??????

Sheens is no dummy,if there is an upgrade it will come with repping and games played.And it wont be 200k.

Well thats my rant.Cheers.

Maybe my wording wasnt correct. Sorry.
What I mean is after his next contract expires.

So say he is already signed until end of next year. I would upgrade it for another 3 years after the end of next season with him earning $450K in those 3 years. This would bring him till the end of 2008. After 2008, if form warrants I would offer him $300K, not now.

Between 2005-2008 he should IMO earn approx $125K per year.

 

[innsaneink]

We must keep the wolves from the door....Sunday showed his class more than ever in setting up A1 plays, more so than his individual stuff.
He is THE thing with the kids....at Jnrs training all I hear is...."Aaaahh he thinks hes Benji" and angry coaches shouting "Stop trying to be Benji!!"
We must do whatever it takes to hang onto this kid!!!

 

[magpiemax]

You see what some dont understand is that if god forbid something happened and he lost his confidence.As has been the case with some players in the past at other clubs.What would a $300,000 contract be worth to the WT then. #-o ."THE DAYS OF SILLY MONEY ARE OVER MAX" IM TOLD REPEATEDLY!

 

[jilliby kitty]

umm albert hoppa at easts was on 100k last time i heard without playing first grade ummm 8)

 

[Anonymous]

I'd be offering in the vicinity of 100k. He's already proved he's a first grade standard 5/8 in my opinion, and he has the talent to be one the best 5/8 in the game. Make him love the club - earn his loyalty.

 

[magpiemax]

umm albert hoppa at easts was on 100k last time i heard without playing first grade ummm 8)

Maybe we dont have the funds easts do.
You see the problem is this, even though the salary cap is 3.25 million the rich clubs like the Roosters for example can offer there lower grade players $5,000 for any games they play in the NRL.
For example:
So when there regular first grade players get called to state of origin duty,they may say to young Albert Hopoate O.K your in first grade and you get five grand for instance now that bonus does not come under the salary cap.Because they are bonusus which are exempt.Thats why the rich clubs are so successful has they have an abundance of depth.
Then meanwhile as these young players develop they want a full first grade contract and they usually get it,because by the time they get the real bikkies the player they are replacing is either old or on to much money.So they punt the oldie and in with the new flavour ,get my drift.

 

[Tap Twist Snap]

If your paying your top 25 players out of the salary cap then it averages out to $130000 each. I think if he is wanting a contract upgrade we need him to make it an extention too. I think somewhere around the $130000 mark is what he deserves for a second contract and then in 2 or 3 years time then I'm sure other clubs will offer him more and we will have to match it. $40000 was pretty fair for a kid coming out of school but he has proven he will be a first grade footballer and the club will have to pay him accordingly.

 

[Snide the Tiger]

You simply pay him on a sliding scale with incentives built in based on various performance targets - ensuring if he plays at the elite level - he is paid commensurately - not underpaid due to age or inexperience!!

There is also alot to be said for rewarding loyalty!!

To suggest $70,000 is a joke albo! The fact is if he is playing as well as say Scott Prince - why would he be receiving just a third of his money????? That is appallingly inequitable and we would deserve to be given the a*se by him and his manager!!!

With incentives (if he achieves them) - it would have to be worth over $100,000 at least!!

And Gr8-1 to suggest you just scale it up on a yearly basis - regardless of performance - is another nonsense!!!

People are getting carried away with age here - it is ability and performance that should dictate his contract terms! And the contract must have the flexibility to allow him to maximise his earning potential within the context of achieving performance goals!

 

[Vicious]

In American terms "He`s our franchise player".We can`t afford to let him get away at any cost.I can guarantee there would be plenty of clubs getting in his managers ear and saying that they would pay him in the vicinity of 200k.
THIS YEAR,give him 100k
NEXT YEAR,give him 150k
3rd YEAR,give him 200k-250k
4th YEAR,give him 300k

 

[Mighty Tiger]

Look we need to keep him not just for the performances on the field but because he does draw crowds and he is getting huge exposure for the Wests Tigers!

Sure he is only a kid but what we do have to realise is what exactly is he doing for the Wests Tigers on all avenues!

A smart person would upgrade his contract for this year and next year (considering he has already recieved close to half this years contract already it really wouldn't be too hard) and then offer something competitive for another 3yrs after that

I would over the 5years offer him below

2004 $100k
2005 $130k
2006 $200k
2007 $200k
2008 $200k

That works out to about $830k now around that would be what I would do because if we do go dramatically up in a few seasons time what we also need to remember is it also takes money away from what we could spend on other players!

 

[yappy]

Thankfully one person knows what they are talking about.

The good thing about incentives is that they count on the year after's cap, so you can be quite clever about them.

First Grade first choice halves get $150K minimum up to about twice that or more for rep stars. That is the going rate. If Benji is going to be one of your first choice halves he should get this sort of money - he's earned it.

The Tigers are in the position though of having him under wraps for some time yet at a considerably lower rate. They should be able to negotiate a two year extension at a reasonably low base rate on the proviso that incentives get his pay up towards a more realistic level today. You just structure them so he gets up around the 180 mark if he plays the whole season as a starting half and give him an extra bonus if he reps. It should ensure the lad is happy, and that you still get a very good price for a quality player without much downside risk if he goes bad.

Yes smart clubs get good players for less than market rate, but $40k for a starting half is unsustainable. The sooner you move to fix it, the more likely you'll get a good deal.