Latrell Mitchell has been offered wildly different contract sums this summer but the NRL’s salary cap auditor will have the final say on a new contract.
A list of earnings of every NRL player will help the game’s salary cap auditor determine Latrell Mitchell’s market value should he accept a cut-price contract from South Sydney.
It’s understood NRL auditor Richard Gardham has final discretion to determine market value using a list of comparative players to reach his decision.
Already this summer Mitchell has been offered wildly different contract sums including more than $1 million per season from the Wests Tigers and a withdrawn contract from the Roosters worth $800,000 per year.
South Sydney’s $400,000, one-year deal makes Gardham’s determination even more important, given NRL’s salary cap laws state a player cannot be registered on a contract worth considerably less than his market value.
However, the sum of the Souths deal could be boosted if the Roosters agree to pay part of his contract for this season.
The 22-year-old Kangaroos and State of Origin representative is considered one of the best in the game, and his value will be determined in similar company, such as James Tedesco, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Tom Trbojevic. All three are on considerably higher salaries.
It’s believed Souths’ cut-price sum is due to limited space in the salary cap as their priority was to bring Queensland forward Jai Arrow to the club in 2020.
However, it could all change given Monday’s confirmation of Arrow’s arrival at Redfern in 2021, with Gold Coast reluctant to let their State of Origin star go for the upcoming season.
This could free up space in Souths’ salary cap to sign Mitchell on a more substantial contract in 2020, allowing time for the club to offload another player to make room for him in 2021.
It’s been reported both Alex Johnston and Dane Gagai could be offloaded to another NRL club.
As the rest of his premiership teammates returned to training on Monday, Mitchell remained with his family on NSW’s north coast after being granted a leave of absence from club duties.
Although he is contracted to the Roosters for 2020, it’s believed he has played his last game for the club.
However, the longer the situation drags on, the more money the Roosters will pay Mitchell unnecessarily while he is on leave.
Stormy
Roar Rookie
I just wish that he would sign with some Club - any Club, so we can all move on. Personally, I wish I didn't have to see, or hear, any more about him for a long, long time. There have to be other people, or issues, in Rugby League that merit discussion more than this young man.
Paulie
Guest
Souths approached LM in July,which was Leaked to the media and then written of as just a rumour as it is illegal for them to not wait until November as per the regulations. Roosters knew he couldn't sign with anyone one until that time passed. so they held of and then offered a 800K deal which should have been enough to keep him but clearly Souths have offered more.It was then that the roosters knew he had been negotiating with Souths since July and they pulled their offer and told him to look else where.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
The Chooks aren't used to players rejecting big contracts and mucking them around. Rightly or wrongly the Chooks did think he was worth that much because that's what they offered him. Presumably they wanted the roster sorted out as early as possible and when he wanted to look around the dynamics changed and they weren't interested in him and his games.
mushi
Roar Guru
A long way off on the fact pattern there Chooks did offer something in that vicinity according to reports from a wide range of sources (including the Roosters) it was Latrell who said thanks but no thanks as also wanted to go and look at other options. Chooks then pulled the offer because they were fine with 800k but not, either consciously or subconsciously, 800k plus a put option that was probably worth another 100-200k. So obviously they did think he was worth the 800k because they put an offer on the table to that effect.
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
" The Chooks didn’t think he was a waste of time at 800 big ones" The Chooks told him to go and look for another club and so they obviously don't think that he is worth that much
eels47
Roar Rookie
Yes it is. Market value is determined by the contract he would get if he went to market today, not by what he is due to get paid if he didn't go to market. So a contract signed 2 years ago is irrelevant.
mushi
Roar Guru
It was arguable that he had still played well. Given the Dally M centre of the year, Kangaroo squad selection, Top Point scorer, Second highest try scorer etc. The main issue was that he was mercurial, and people over reacted to both the bright spots and the lows. I think people are judging him on the potential shown during the bright spots rather than the average centre. That said I don’t think he’s worth fullback money as many of his weaknesses are critical elements of fullback play. I'd think his value is more in the 600-700k region as a centre
mushi
Roar Guru
The issue is value to the person is more than just the contracted salary. So, assuming there's no handshake deals, this was the highest value proposition in the market for LM. You could also say that the market has said suiting up for the tigers is worth -600k per year.
Stevo Delaney
Roar Rookie
This is not in the spirit of capitalism.
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
Whatever the reason(s) are for him not playing well surely there can be no dispute that his value has decreased?
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
The Chooks didn't think he was a waste of time at 800 big ones a season and neither did the other clubs who offered him close to a million. Even after all his nonsense he is still highly valued based on the assumption that he will wake up to himself a bit. He's an outright match winner unless he's a distracted waste of time.
Chilli
Roar Rookie
He wants to play fullback JA.. therefore I don’t think he sees his time at the roosters as progressing.
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
He's apparently had 3 managers in 8 months. No wonder he was unable to keep his mind on the game at times last year. Still think he will regret not accepting the Roosters offer. Says Bennett will improve his game. Strange comment as he progressed well under Robbo.
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
It's amusing to see that everyone was bagging LM last year as a waste of time and now that he is changing clubs on a low salary he is now a great player worth a fortune.....
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
So the value of his current contract for 2020 is irrelevant when determining his "market value" for 2020?
eels47
Roar Rookie
His current contract with the Roosters is irrelevant when determining his market value as it was signed 2 years ago. He had offers moving forward in the vacinity of $1M, thus making his market value somewhere around that figure. Yes, it is up to the individual club what they are prepared to offer, but if there are genuine offers at $1M, surely you can see that a contract of $400K is below value?
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
No he does not. He was offered one for 2021 and 2022. Why can people not read properly?
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Isn't his current contract that runs to the end of 2020 around $450k? Value is subjective. The same player is worth a different value on the open market season to season. This is because the available alternatives feed into value. Applying arbitrary values is ludicrous.
mushi
Roar Guru
His roosters contract would have been well below the 800k given that was the extension amount he was offered.
mushi
Roar Guru
I must say I find this odd. Forcing someone to work elsewhere for more money just seems to be crazy when, in a vacuum, clearly the person values a bunch of other non-monetary things that club is offering, and should be free to make that choice. The NRL can barely do a passable job of imitating a sports administration; making value judgement for individuals seems to me to be beyond their capabilities and remit. But I do get that when around half the comp has been found guilty of deliberately misleading the NRL and circumventing the cap it must be tough to trust a number that is well out of the ordinary.