The NRL must investigate whether the Rabbitohs have illegally structured Jack Wighton’s ew deal which will see him take a $300,000 pay cut next season.
That’s according to NRL 360 co-host Paul Kent who also called the salary cap “a joke” in the wake of Wighton’s shock move from Canberra to South Sydney.
NRL clubs are not allowed to ‘back-end’ deals which means they pay a player unders in the first part of their contract and overs at the end of it.
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Back-ending deals allows clubs to target a premiership window with players who, if they were paid their true value, would exceed the salary cap.
Wighton will earn $700,000 at Souths next season which is well short of the $1 million the Raiders offered.
“The fact the Raiders were prepared to offer Jack Wighton marquee money (and now) he’s taking a $300,000 pay cut next season to go to South Sydney,” Kent said.
“It goes up after that but he will still be on less money in his final year at Souths than he is this year at Canberra.”
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Fellow journalist James Hooper argued that Wighton took the pay cut in pursuit of an elusive premiership.
“It’s about more than money. He’s clearly stipulated to South Sydney that it’s about trying to win a premiership, that’s the final box that he has left to tick as a player,” he said.
“When you crunch the numbers and strip it all back. He’s only going to be forgoing a tick under $100,000 per season after tax and everything else gets taken out.”
Kent hit back: “So he has to forge $2000 cash in the hand every week. Most people are falling off their chairs right now….$2000 cash.”
“He’s going to go from $1 million down to $700,000 next year. He’s allowed to go take the pay cut but it’s also the last contract he’ll probably ever sign. Nearly every player tries to maximise their last contract because fair to say Jack Wighton is probably not going to earn this kind of money in other areas of life after his career.
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“Let’s be honest… the salary cap is a joke, we know that, it’s not policed properly and the fact is when a player goes to another club for much less than he’s on, there’s got to be a smell about it.”
Hooper then said “the deal is back-ended” and that Wighton will earn $700,000 then $750,000 then $900,000 then $950,000 over the next four years.
“Back-ended contracts are illegal in the NRL,” Kent responded.
“The NRL salary cap auditors will look at it, and they’ll need to look at it. We all know the stories of different clubs where these sorts of things go on and this is highly unusual, he’s taken a pay cut to leave a club.”
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