Latest news with #salary cap
News.com.au
21-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Dirty tricks': Major problem ruining the NRL laid bare as player contracts lose all value
Somewhere along the line, the NRL's player transfer market became a spaghetti junction so complex it can only be traversed with a PHD or BS. Whether it's a player, an agent or a club, chances are they've 1. had exposure to this minefield and 2. bastardised it to their advantage. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. In lay terms, there's no rule that isn't inequitable or prone to manipulation by Isaac Moses- and it's left confidence in the system at rancid lows. This is why the governing body must untangle this web before the player agents wrest total control and rebrand the Wests Tigers as a labour hire agency. As it stands, the salary cap is a proven rort that heavily favours the elite clubs, the November 1 deadline is a joke and the NRL is asleep at the security desk. But it doesn't matter anyway because the contracts governed under this model provide the same legal protections as the T & C's on black market cigarettes. As we know, players can test the market from November 1st at the beginning of the final year of their contract- and the results have been deadly. Some sign so far in advance they risk dying of old age waiting for their new deal to commence, while others run dead waiting for their current one to end. Yes, blokes like Viliame Kikau and Jarome Luai bowed out from Penrith with a trophy after signing eons in advance for the Bulldogs and Tigers respectively. But for every gluttoned Panther there's a Brandon Smith gushing over the Roosters with a year to run on his Storm deal or a Daly Cherry-Evans triggering a form slump that cost himself the Queensland captaincy. The rule treats the fans like mugs too, mainly by forcing them to cheer for players who're already thinking about new shapes and release excuses. Watching a mercenary farcically dial it in may be okay for us old cats blessed with the anchoring nostalgia of the glory years, but for the youngsters with no idea of the loyal one-club company men of this magical era, it sucks deluxe. You wouldn't cop a resigning CEO hanging around for a year or even a kid flipping burgers, you'd march them out the door before they spit in your fries- and the NRL should do the same too. Furthermore, these advance signings also bury footy's news cycle under a dogpile of whispers and cryptic Instagram posts. If you were new to rugby league and the first thing you tracked was the Dylan Brown contract or the Lachie Galvin brouhaha, the most shocking thing you would've learned is both actually play football. That's because transfer imbroglio can snowball in to an all-consuming farrago of loopholing and lies that relegates the 80 minutes on the weekend behind whoever Phil Gould's blueing on 100% Footy. As for the contracts themselves, they've grown so worthless that the only clause recognised is the one about acting like a prat to get an annulment. If there's one thing more unedifying than a player snapping a deal because the coach used a stern tone of voice – or a club trying to force out an unwanted player – it's the manner in which the desired outcome is achieved via Machiavellian smear. With everyone employing dirty tricks via leaks and lies it means a deal signed to '2029' no longer refers to a contract's year but its number of exit clauses. And when this contract is eventually broken? It's usually to accept a pittance to play for a premiership club or a Saudi ransom to be a pariah on the Gold Coast. Yes, the salary cap was supposed to equalise talent distribution but now it just serves successful clubs over the bottom-feeders. Add third party agreements and the silky persuasion of urban magnates like Nick Politis, and it's no wonder juggernaut clubs pilfer developed talent from have-nots like milking a dairy cow for cheesecakes. But how do we overhaul player movement to make it fair for everyone? Transfer windows and swap deals have been suggested, as has a player draft or just folding the Roosters. But the draft gets canned because it was palmed by Terry Hill 25 years ago, player swaps are too complicated for splitting the bill, and the Players Association don't like a transfer window or the June 30 model because it only leaves new signings a measly six months to hire a removalist. As such, we're left with a model that relies largely on honesty and arsey gotchas. And with the NRL focused elsewhere on other trivialities, it means a player breach is only detected if it happens at the same time they fail to play the ball with their foot. It's time to get real. Adopt zero tolerance on breaking contracts for more money and implement the 'Classroom Lolly' rule for TPA's by outlawing the lot unless there's enough for everyone. If that's not to the NRL's liking, perhaps try the recruitment strategy proposed for the PNG expansion and lock them all down in a compound. – Dane Eldridge is a warped cynic yearning for the glory days of rugby league, a time when the sponges were magic and the Mondays were mad. He's never strapped on a boot in his life, and as such, should be taken with a grain of salt.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
WNBA Preview: Mercury faces tough test, WNBA All-Star Game
The 2025 WNBA season has officially hit its halfway point. And besides the upcoming All-Star break, general managers made some decisions at the end of last week in preparation for the August 7 trade deadline. GMs had until Sunday, July 13 at 5 p.m. ET to waive any players on unguaranteed contracts before those unguaranteed salaries became guaranteed. Players like the Mercury's Kiana Williams, the Lynx's Alissa Pili, the Sparks' Mercedes Russell, the Liberty's Marquesha Davis and the Sun's Haley Peters and Jaelyn Brown were all waived prior to this midpoint deadline. Advertisement Why do GMs do this? It usually is a mechanism that allows for teams to maintain salary cap and roster flexibility. Once the midpoint date passes and players clear waivers—it takes 24 hours to do so— teams can sign players to 7-day contracts. In most cases, the teams who waived players can re-sign those same players to these 7-day contracts. A player can only be on a 7-day contract three times until a team then has to sign them to a rest of the season contract. The midpoint also marks a change for hardship contracts as those will also be just 7-day deals until that player reaches the limit of three 7-day contracts. Meanwhile, the Valkyries waived wing Stephanie Talbot, who was on a protected deal so that they could make room for the expected July 15 arrival of French center Iliana Rupert. To be clear, this wasn't a move done with the midpoint deadline in mind since Golden State has boat loads of cap space. The Valkyries needed to create another roster spot for when Rupert officially arrives. WNBA: JUL 13 Dallas Wings at Indiana Fever Clark, Fever get best of Bueckers, Wings in first pro matchup of WNBA stars Advertisement The highly anticipated matchup between Clark and Bueckers was originally supposed to take place on June 27 in Dallas. The Week Ahead This upcoming week is a shortened one because of the All-Star break that begins on Thursday July 17 and runs through Monday July 21 with games picking back up on July 22. While there are only three days of regular season games this week, that doesn't mean there aren't great matchups to watch right before the break. The Phoenix Mercury have a really difficult schedule leading into the break and as do the Golden State Valkyries. All of their matchups are must-see. Also, the Indiana Fever's first trip to the loud and rowdy Brooklyn crowd at Barclays Center to take on the Liberty on Wednesday night will for sure be a game to circle. Advertisement The WNBA All-Star Game itself probably won't be super competitive on Saturday night, but expect the three-point contest and skills contests on Friday night July 18 to be super-competitive. Insurance company Aflac is giving $60,000 to the winner of the three-point contest and $55,000 to the winner of the skills contest in addition to the much smaller purse that the WNBA provides to the winners of those contests. Sabrina Ionescu and rookie Sonia Citron are currently the only confirmed participants in the three-point contest, although it wouldn't be shocking if Caitlin Clark joins the fun with All-Star weekend taking place at her team's home in Indianapolis. Phoenix Mercury @ Golden State Valkyries (Monday July 14 at 10 p.m. ET on League Pass) Advertisement The Valkyries will be going into this game coming off a tough 104-102 loss on Saturday on the road to the Aces. The Mercury, however, will play for the first time in five days. Phoenix will be without Kahleah Copper (right hamstring) and Satou Sabally (right ankle) but will continue to integrate recent signee DeWanna Bonner into their schemes. Can Mercury point forward Alyssa Thomas continue her hot streak which included a 29/8/5 statline in their last game, defeating the Lynx, the league's top team, 79-71? Thomas will likely have to contend against the physical defense of first time All-Star Kayla Thornton in addition to the raucous Golden State crowd also known as 'Ballhalla' to extend their edge in the WNBA standings over the Liberty. Phoenix Mercury @ Minnesota Lynx (Wednesday, July 16 at 1 p.m. ET on League Pass) The Mercury's schedule only gets harder before the All-Star break as they then jet off to Minneapolis for a rematch against the Lynx, a team they beat just a week prior in Phoenix. As of now, the Lynx remain undefeated at home, but their recent struggles against the Chicago Sky at home and on the road prove that the Lynx might have hit a mid-season lull after rolling through the majority of the first half of the regular season. Since losing wing Karlie Samuelson to a Lisfranc injury for the rest of the season on June 29, the Lynx have had to play six games since, the most games in that stretch of time across the league. Advertisement Golden State Valkyries @ Seattle Storm (Wednesday, July 16 at 3:00 p.m. ET on League Pass ) Both the Storm and the Valkyries have been incredibly inconsistent in the past couple of weeks of play. In that span, the Storm have lost to the Mystics, the youngest team in the league with the second-worst overall offensive rating. The Valkyries defeated the Fever handily 80-61 last week but then also fell in close games to both the Dream and the Aces. The last time these two teams battled, the Valkyries clobbered the Storm 84-57 and then previously in mid-June Golden State defeated Seattle 76-70. Golden State has struggled to win on the road, only winning three games on the road, including two against the Sparks in Los Angeles. Their first road win outside of the state of California came on July 9 against the Fever. Indiana Fever @ New York Liberty (Wednesday July 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET on CBSSN) Advertisement The Fever will play at Barclays Center for the first time this season after splitting their two home games against the defending champs in the Liberty previously. In the first game between these two teams, Jonquel Jones powered the Liberty with a 26/12 double-double. But then once Jones had gone down with a sprained right ankle, the Liberty struggled without her, and Caitlin Clark exploded scoring 32 points in a 102-88 win over New York that kept the Liberty out of the Commissioner's Cup Final. While Jones most likely won't play on Wednesday as she continues to recover and ramp up her conditioning, the Liberty have found ways to win without her since the Fever last played them. 2025 WNBA All-Star Game: Team Collier @ Team Clark (Saturday July 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC) Both Napheesa Collier and Caitlin Clark are All-Star captains for the first time in their careers for the 2025 WNBA All-Star game. Collier's team on paper looks a lot more balanced with much more size and versatility including Breanna Stewart, Nneka Ogwumike and Paige Bueckers. Clark's is a team that probably will shoot a ton of threes especially with Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally joining Clark from teams that put up a tad under 30 three-balls a game. Advertisement When both Clark and Collier chose their teams, they agreed to trade their coaches so that Cheryl Reeve could coach her own player in Collier. Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello will coach Clark, Ionescu and her former player and first-time All-Star Kayla Thornton. Expect this game to be less competitive than the one from last year since Team USA won't be put up against the WNBA All-Stars. When that happens during Olympic years, players who don't make Team USA usually have a chip on their shoulders and show out. This year's game will be much more about entertaining the fans who tune-in instead of trying to beat the players on the other side.
