Nathan Peats: The Eels star, the napkin, and the cafe deal

BANNED Parramatta Eels chairman Steve Sharp allegedly used a coffee shop napkin to handwrite a third party agreement offer that was worth tens of thousands of dollars for former player Nathan Peats.

BANNED Parramatta Eels chairman Steve Sharp allegedly used a coffee shop napkin to handwrite a third party agreement (TPA) offer that was worth tens of thousands of dollars for star former Eels hooker Nathan Peats.

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BANNED Parramatta Eels chairman Steve Sharp allegedly used a coffee shop napkin to handwrite a third party agreement (TPA) offer that was worth tens of thousands of dollars for star former Eels hooker Nathan Peats.

The extraordinary new claim hints at the drastic measures required for Parramatta to meet its TPA commitments to players, as the club’s skirting of the salary cap escalated.

It also suggests Mr Sharp, as club chairman, was directly involved in TPA negotiations with player managers. NRL ­officials are forbidden from guaranteeing TPAs to players.

The new information has emerged at a key moment, as the fallout continues from the NRL’s decision on Saturday to impose punitive sanctions against the scandal-ridden club. The Eels’ deregistered gang of five — Mr Sharp, deputy chairman Tom Issa, CEO John Boulous, director Peter Serrao and football boss Daniel Anderson — are also mulling over an appeal.

Insiders have claimed the napkin TPA offer had been made by Mr Sharp at a Parramatta coffee shop during 2013 to Peats’ agent Sam Ayoub, before the star hooker had joined the Eels. However, several months later in early 2014, the napkin promise had still not been honoured and allegedly became the subject of a heated follow-up meeting at the Eels HQ. This was attended by a number of Parramatta officials including Mr Sharp, Mr Issa, and Peats’ agent Sam Ayoub.

In that meeting, Mr Ayoub was furious Peats had not yet received the TPA that had allegedly been directly promised by Mr Sharp in the coffee shop.

Former Parramatta Eels boss Steve Sharp.

One witness at the early 2014 meeting at the Eels recalls Mr Ayoub shouting at Mr Sharp, and saying words to the effect of: “We sat in the coffee shop near your office and you said that’s what the deal is.”

There’s no suggestion that Mr Ayoub has done anything wrong.

Late yesterday, Mr Ayoub confirmed that he had initially met with Mr Sharp at a coffee shop “under his building” in order to hammer out the commitments for Peats.

He was vague on the napkin detail. “Maybe he wrote something on a napkin. Maybe he did give it to me. I don’t recall. It was three years ago. I’ve had 7000 coffee meetings since.”

“Liquid Paper-Gate” is already under the microscope. Mr Weeks’ diary notes refer to a confidential conversation with the club’s lawyer, John de Mestre, about an apparently doctored invoice from Zibara Clothing.

Nick Weeks, head of the NRL Integrity Unit, with NRL CEO Todd Greenberg at yesterday’s press conference into the Parramatta Eels. Picture: Bob Barker

He confirmed Mr Sharp had made promises to him on behalf of Peats during that coffee shop meeting, but he said that by early 2014, those commitments had not been met.

“I did tell them they had to honour the obligations they had made … I’m forever chasing up commitments that were made (by clubs). I have no shame in following them up.”

Asked about the tone of the discussion, Mr Ayoub said: “I was firm about what I believed we were entitled to,” adding he was at his “wits end”.

Mr Ayoub said that the coffee shop meeting with Mr Sharp and the subsequent meeting at the Eels “would have been months apart”.

Asked what happened to the third party payments for Peats, Mr Ayoub replied: “At the end, after a lot of chase and effort and fatigue on our part, they did refer them to us, and we legitimised them with the NRL.”

Several attempts to contact Mr Sharp yesterday were unsuccessful.

TIMELINE

March 9

EXPLOSIVE internal minutes from March 2014, signed off by Eels chairman Steve Sharp, show the Parramatta board openly discussed strategies to skirt salary cap rules by rewarding third party agreement (TPA) providers with corporate boxes.

March 11

ARL Commission chairman John Grant announces a full forensic investigation “to get to the bottom of the allegations”.

April 6

FRESH revelations suggest past and present players, including Corey Norman, Chris Sandow, Will Hopoate, Reni Maitua, Willie Tonga, Justin Hunt, Nathan Peats, Lee Mossop and Cheyse Blair, were guaranteed hundreds of thousands of dollars in third-party payments.

April 27

TEXT messages emerge proving Eels CEO John Boulous was actively involved in discussions about a proposed $75,000 third-party agreement deal with Parramatta Council, which included Tim Mannah, Jarryd Hayne, Will Hopoate and Nathan Peats, in 2014.

May 3

THE NRL provisionally announces the club will be docked 12 competition points, stripped of its Auckland Nines title, five senior officials suspended and fined
$1.25 million for systematic salary-cap breaches.

Last week

THE NRL officially punishes the Eels, docking the club 12 competition points, issuing a whopping $1 million fine and revoking the club’s favourable for and against points differential.