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SHATTERED Storm players were last night told by News Ltd boss John Hartigan that several would have to leave the club to enable Melbourne to comply with the salary cap next season, sparking a likely bidding war for the Storm's four biggest names - Greg Inglis, Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk.
Hartigan said a large portion of the Storm's breach for this season was the third-party guarantees.
Stars such as Aiden Tolman and Brett Finch are off contract, while Jeff Lima has been offered a release, but Hartigan said others would have to go.
As a result, deals such as Smith's $100,000 arrangement with Fox Sports will continue to be counted as part of the Storm's $4.1 million salary cap for the remaining three seasons of his current contract with the club.
Slater and Inglis are believed to have similar guarantees, which reduce the amount of money the Storm can spend on other players if they are included under the salary cap. NRL chief executive David Gallop said the guarantees were considered the same as payments made by the Storm, even though the money came from broadcasters or sponsors for services provided by the players.
''Third-party agreements underwritten by Melbourne Storm for X amount of dollars are the same as cash, and it is irrelevant whether it is salary or an underwrite,'' Gallop said.
''If there is a signed agreement to say you will receive $100,000 from XYZ broadcasting that is underwritten by the Melbourne Storm if circumstances change, that is the same as receiving $100,000 in salary.''
With many of the Storm players' contracts back-ended so they receive more money next season, the club needs to make savings of more than $1m to compete in the 2011 premiership.
Pay cuts have been ruled out, as the amount needed to be trimmed off the club's wage bill would require players to reduce their income by about 20 per cent across the board - a figure too high for those with mortgages and families to seriously contemplate.
However, the Storm have a handful of players on the minimum wage of $55,000 who would be unable to accept a reduction in pay under the collective bargaining agreement between the NRL and RLPA - meaning the remainder of the 25-man squad would have to take even bigger cuts to their income.
''What we have said thus far is that pay cuts don't solve their 2010 problems and may not solve their 2011 problems,'' Gallop said.
He added that altering contracts to enable the players to remain at the Storm under the salary cap was also unfair to other clubs who had been unable to compete fairly for their services.
''The problem with pay cuts is that they ignore the amount that was used to take that player out of the market,'' Gallop said. RLPA boss David Garnsey and some player agents contacted by the Herald suggested the players with third-party guarantees could remove them from their contracts to help the club.
But Gallop said: ''That is tantamount to a pay cut.''
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-demands-storm-player-sale-20100427-tq7k.html
Hartigan said a large portion of the Storm's breach for this season was the third-party guarantees.
Stars such as Aiden Tolman and Brett Finch are off contract, while Jeff Lima has been offered a release, but Hartigan said others would have to go.
As a result, deals such as Smith's $100,000 arrangement with Fox Sports will continue to be counted as part of the Storm's $4.1 million salary cap for the remaining three seasons of his current contract with the club.
Slater and Inglis are believed to have similar guarantees, which reduce the amount of money the Storm can spend on other players if they are included under the salary cap. NRL chief executive David Gallop said the guarantees were considered the same as payments made by the Storm, even though the money came from broadcasters or sponsors for services provided by the players.
''Third-party agreements underwritten by Melbourne Storm for X amount of dollars are the same as cash, and it is irrelevant whether it is salary or an underwrite,'' Gallop said.
''If there is a signed agreement to say you will receive $100,000 from XYZ broadcasting that is underwritten by the Melbourne Storm if circumstances change, that is the same as receiving $100,000 in salary.''
With many of the Storm players' contracts back-ended so they receive more money next season, the club needs to make savings of more than $1m to compete in the 2011 premiership.
Pay cuts have been ruled out, as the amount needed to be trimmed off the club's wage bill would require players to reduce their income by about 20 per cent across the board - a figure too high for those with mortgages and families to seriously contemplate.
However, the Storm have a handful of players on the minimum wage of $55,000 who would be unable to accept a reduction in pay under the collective bargaining agreement between the NRL and RLPA - meaning the remainder of the 25-man squad would have to take even bigger cuts to their income.
''What we have said thus far is that pay cuts don't solve their 2010 problems and may not solve their 2011 problems,'' Gallop said.
He added that altering contracts to enable the players to remain at the Storm under the salary cap was also unfair to other clubs who had been unable to compete fairly for their services.
''The problem with pay cuts is that they ignore the amount that was used to take that player out of the market,'' Gallop said. RLPA boss David Garnsey and some player agents contacted by the Herald suggested the players with third-party guarantees could remove them from their contracts to help the club.
But Gallop said: ''That is tantamount to a pay cut.''
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-demands-storm-player-sale-20100427-tq7k.html
