The blue and gold faithful are filthy on Jarryd Hayne over his move to the Gold Coast having repeatedly declared in the media he’d never play anywhere else but Parramatta.
But as for the first mention, the “lifetime agreement” he “signed” in 2014 when he left to chase a start in the NRL?
It was never worth the paper it was written on, if it was ever recorded at all.
Hayne’s manager Wayne Beavis swears black and blue that such an agreement with the club never existed.
But they insist both he and Beavis personally approved the letter to members in October 2014 — bearing Hayne’s signature — that expressly mentions the commitment.
“It means jack s—,” Beavis said.
“There were no terms of release. Legally none. How could you ever enforce a lifetime contract?
“How would they ever put any money in there, not knowing where it was going to end up?”
As far as League HQ is concerned, this is the key point. There’s no such thing as a lifetime contract in the NRL, not without set salaries and length of terms.
Otherwise such a deal could be used to circumvent the salary cap. Daly Cherry-Evans $10 million ‘lifetime deal’ with Manly is an eight-year contract worth on average $1.25 million a year.
The final two seasons are options in Cherry-Evans’ favour, and if he sees them out will tie him to the club until he turns 34 in 2023.
The deal is guaranteed, which means the Sea Eagles will be liable for the playing component of DCE’s deal should he be struck down by a career-ending injury.