William Hopoate's manager denies illegal third-party deals
Date
July 27, 2015 - 6:06PM
Daniel Lane
The agent who represents Parramatta player William Hopoate has denied the State of Origin representative is linked to an under-the-table payments scandal involving Eels supporter Eddie Obeid jnr.
Last week a Fairfax Media investigation which detailed what was described as the "murky world of player payments to circumvent the salary cap" during the Roy Spagnolo era, said Obeid, the son of former Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid snr, had offered real estate advice to Hopoate and paid between $50,000 and $100,000 a year in deals that hadn't been registered with the NRL.
Hopoate's manager, Tyran Smith – who is involved in a battle with Parramatta about the legitimacy of Hopoate's latest contract with the club – refuted any suggestion his client had received an improper third-party payment and maintained those he had were registered with the NRL.
"Will can't believe it; I can't believe it," Smith said. "To be implicated in that story was unfair because whatever third-party deals Will has received have been registered with the NRL and none of them are with Eddie.
"All the third-party deals have been documented and he most certainly hasn't received the kind of deals the other players mentioned in the story were alleged to have received."
Smith, who admitted he knows Obeid, said Hopoate was distraught when he saw his name embroiled in the investigation that alleged Chris Sandow's estimated $550,000 salary be topped up by as much as $200,000 a year, while forward Darcy Lussick was able to buy a unit from Obeid's family company at a discounted price.
The NRL allows players to earn unlimited amounts outside of the club but the rules state players can receive money from corporate sponsors not associated with the club and don't use such things as club logos, emblems or jerseys. All third-party arrangements must be approved and registered by the NRL.
Other clubs have been caught rorting the system in the past.
The Melbourne Storm were stripped of their 2007 and '09 premiership titles when the full extent of their dealings was exposed in 2010. In 2002 Canterbury were fined $500,000 and stripped of the 37 points they'd accumulated over the season when it was revealed they had breached the cap and in 1991 Canberra breached the cap by $600,000.
Smith was understood to be at loggerheads with the Eels over the club's attempt to change the contract extension Hopoate signed after months of intense negotiations.
Parramatta, who had a similar battle with marquee recruit Kieran Foran before smoothing the ways for him to come to the club, have not registered the Hopoate deal with the NRL. The Eels administration and board has placed the blame for the contract fiasco on former chief executive Scott Seward.
Fairfax Media understands the NRL is closely monitoring the Hopoate situation because the governing body has no intention to allow for players to sign deals in good faith only for the terms of agreements to be changed. If Hopoate was to leave Parramatta he would struggle to find a new club because the majority of them have no room to move under the salary cap.
Smith would not confirm whether he had received two contracts which altered the terms of Hopoate's agreement with the Eels, choosing to instead say, "All I will say is what I've already said, a contract is a contract and an agreement is an agreement."
