Sacked! Blood in the water at Shark Park with redundancies

A toxic mix of quitting sponsors, NRL fines and crippling debt has forced the cash-strapped Cronulla Sharks to sack 10 staff members to slash costs amid genuine fears of the club’s long term viability.

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The cash-strapped Cronulla Sharks will be forced to wear a 1970s-style jersey next year with no front, sleeve or back of jersey sponsors committed to the embattled club.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal Opal Solar (front of jersey), Bang and Olufsen (back of jersey) and Martec (sleeve) have all quit, leaving a $2 million shortfall in commercial revenue.

On the back of losing $3 million on their 2018 premiership campaign, chief executive Barry Russell was forced to sack 10 staff members on Tuesday to slash costs amid genuine fears of the club’s long-term viability.

Cronulla Sharks CEO Barry Russell handed out the redundancies this week. Picture: AAP

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The club has however made a decision to spend their entire salary cap next year which will ensure the money is available to secure champion Kiwi halfback Shaun Johnson.

However, making the Sharks’ position even more precarious is the NRL’s refusal to bail out struggling clubs with financial assistance as they have in recent years with St George-Illawarra and the Wests Tigers.

Under the game’s new $13 million-a-year funding agreements, the next club to go broke either folds or is forced to relocate. NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg is monitoring the Sharks’ position closely but refused to comment on the sackings of 10 employees.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal the club was close to securing a $6 million major sponsor for five years but the deal fell over three months ago over the bad language and poor behaviour of Andrew Fifita and Josh Dugan on a social media podcast.

The club is also under investigation for salary cap rorting in 2015 and revelations of a fake invoice scam and bogus $100,000 loan to players.

The club is still paying off the loan and facing a huge fine from the NRL.

The Sharks have been unable to offer coach Shane Flanagan a contract extension because of the financial crisis.

The situation is so diabolical that a recent request for new computer equipment from the coaching staff was rejected.

Cronulla Sharks chairman Dino Mezzatesta directed the club, along with the rest of the board, to hand out the redundancies. Picture: Brett Costello

The cash flow problems go back to 2017, the year after the Sharks won their first premiership.

Then chief executive Lyall Gorman and his commercial staff were left with $600,000 worth of excess merchandise that wasn’t sold.

Gorman also received a $600,000 payout when he left to join Manly.

Russell told The Daily Telegraph that fans and members would not be affected.

“It won’t affect our salary cap,” he said, “The board is committed to spending 100 per cent of the cap. Our fans expect and will get a long-term sustainable business model.

“Unfortunately a number of our old sponsorship deals were allowed to expire at the same time and our challenges off the field haven’t helped.”

Cronulla Sharks coach Shane Flanagan is still waiting to see how his future at the club unfolds. Picture: Damian Shaw

Rather than support the football club, revenue from unit sales at the development site next to Shark Park has been used to clear debts of more than $6 million to former chairman Damian Keogh and another director Craig Airey.

The 10 sackings leave the Sharks with an administration staff of only 12 and all up about 22 including the coaching staff.

“We have financial challenges and our cashflow and our budget forecast had to be addressed,” Russell said “We’re under stress but we’ll get through it.

“We’re just trying to financially responsible and do what’s best for the club’s long term future,

“We have to change our business model.”

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