The Canterbury Bulldogs are reportedly set to make a bizarre offer for Gold Coast Titans captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, with a $4 million contract and a share in a pub on the table.
The Titans’ wrecking ball duo of Fa’asuamaleaui and David Fifita became free agents due to a clause in their contracts as a result of former coach Justin Holbrook’s sacking.
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Unsurprisingly the duo are attracting plenty of suitors, with Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart confirming his side has put an offer in front of Fifita.
However, it doesn’t come close to the unique deal proposed by the Bulldogs.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the Bulldogs have offered the Titans skipper a monster deal which also gets around the salary cap.
The Laundy family, who are the Bulldogs’ major sponsors, own 30 pubs across New South Wales and have reportedly been in contact with NRL chief Andrew Abdo about seeking approval for the deal.
Arthur Laundy, the owner of Laundy Hotels, believes the fact the Bulldogs can’t immediately offer competitive football forces them to get creative and “lure them in with a deal that no-one else can do.”
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The report claims Laundy is adamant players will see a 10 to 12 per cent annual return for players who take up such a deal.
He’s also willing to give NRL stars a money-back guarantee should they want out.
“If something was to go wrong, I’ve got enough money to guarantee them their money back,” Laundy said.
“If they want out at the end to get married, to buy a house, I’ll buy them out.”
Laundy and the Bulldogs’ ploy is somewhat similar to what the Melbourne Storm did with a number of their off-contract stars last year.
Storm chairman Matt Trip gained approval from NRL powerbrokers for his players to receive investment opportunities in bookmaking firm Betr.
