Knights CEO Matt Gidley says Eels salary cap offences show need to overhaul NRL’s system

KNIGHTS boss Matt Gidley says third party sponsorship agreements have spiralled out of control and created an uneven playing field in the NRL.

NEWCASTLE chief executive Matt Gidley says third party sponsorship agreements have spiralled out of control and created an uneven playing field in the NRL to the point where they are now a “huge blight on the game”.

In the aftermath of the heavy sanctions handed out to Parramatta for a host of salary cap offences, Gidley believes now is the perfect time for all clubs to sit down and have a serious discussion about the role of TPAs and the salary cap and whether an overhaul of the current system is in the best interests of the game.

“In the last four or five years, they (TPAs) have exploded and it’s now out of control and a huge blight on the game,” Gidley said.

“It has created this uneven playing field in the competition between the haves and the have-nots and in my opinion, it has undermined the salary cap.

“We have seen what’s happened with the Eels and it’s a really tough day for our game when something like this happens. It’s a stark warning to all clubs about not doing anything unscrupulous.

“The problem is you are always going to get administrators willing to push the boundaries on this because it is not a simple issue.

“We as administrators need to make it as transparent as possible because of all the issues in the game at the moment, it is the one I get asked about the most by our supporters.”

While Gidley concedes the Knights are at a huge disadvantage to many rival clubs when it comes to TPAs, he is not against the game’s elite players earning as much money as they can out of rugby league.

“It is not what the players are earning that is the problem,” he said.

Rick Stone will take over from Wayne Bennett as the Newcastle Knight's Head Coach in 2015.He is pictured at the formal announcement in Newcastle with Knight's CEO Matt Gidley. Picture by Peter Lorimer.

“They should be able to earn as much as they can. The problem is the value that many of them are going into their club’s salary cap at. It is well below what it should be and what they are worth on the open market because of the of TPAs.

“That is the area that needs to be looked at closely. I believe every player who plays in the NRL should have a minimum salary cap value decided by an independent body.”