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Sonny Bulldog$ Take The Cash
....and are now fighting with the NR-Hell over who is going to pay the
$300,000 legal bill which the NR-Hell promised to pay but are having
second thoughts on. Maybe they should have got Gallops signature on
it? Al least that way they could sue...
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Sonny Bill free from Bulldogs for $750k
Former ALP powerbroker Graham Richardson has ended the Sonny Bill
Williams saga, brokering a deal between the renegade footballer and
the Bulldogs.
In a heady chain of events played out late last night, the club has
verbally agreed to a $750,000 payout from Williams, allowing him to
break a five-year deal to take up a $2 million contract with French
rugby side Toulon.
And in an unprecedented move for rugby league, Williams decided to
negotiate the deal himself and offer his former club $750,000 to end
court action against him.
The Bulldogs board baulked at the figure late yesterday and demanded a
price tag of $1m.
Keen to end the melodrama over the future of their runaway star, and
wary of protracted legal wrangling, they finally came to a deal late
last night.
"We've had some good discussions and we're close to finalising a
deal," Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg told the Herald.
"We're not prepared to speculate on the details. But we're confident
that we can finalise the details over the weekend."
The Herald understands the peace deal has been in the wings for some
time involving Richardson and lawyer Mike O'Brien, who was the ARL's
lawyer during its fight against Super League last decade.
"I don't see this as selling out whatsoever," Greenberg said. "It's
important for people to know that he [Williams] and Toulon contacted
us.
"We haven't gone chasing any of this. We were prepared to take the
matter to court and make him accountable and still are if an agreement
is not reached."
Williams withdrew at the 11th hour from his side's pre-season match
against Toulouse yesterday morning (Sydney time) so he would not
breach a NSW Supreme Court injunction banning him from playing with
another club.
If Williams had played, he risked being found in contempt of court,
facing arrest and the seizure of his Australian assets, including the
$1.3m Sydney home now on the market.
Instead, Williams watched from the stands with good friend and boxer
Anthony Mundine.
"A financial settlement is going to be found at the beginning of next
week," Toulon club president Mourad Boudjellal told reporters in
France, adding he did not want to "inflame the situation" with the
Bulldogs.
Greenberg received a call from Richardson with news of Williams's bid
to resolve the matter out of court. Greenberg confirmed any settlement
with Williams would also mean the club would not pursue Khoder Nasser,
the manager who the Bulldogs and NRL claim induced Williams into
breaking his contract.
While the settlement is unlikely to prove a deterrent to cashed-up
French rugby clubs raiding rugby league's stocks, NRL chief executive
David Gallop claimed an early victory.
"The fact he has decided not to defy the injunction sends a clear
message to people who want to break their contract," he said.
Asked if he was pushing for Williams to be prevented from playing for
Toulon until the end of the NRL season, Gallop said: "How long he
stays on the sidelines is one of the issues that has been raised."
This financial settlement will be an embarrassment for the NRL, which
has talked tough since Williams fled the country in a bid to stop
others from joining the exodus.
In European football, the size of a transfer fee usually depends on
the status of the player, but the minimum usually amounts to one
season of a new contract.
The Bulldogs have argued before the courts already that Williams's
defection could have a wide-reaching effect on the club.
"I've said on a few occasions that the issue is that not only does his
departure impact on us on the field but also off the field," Greenberg
said.
"An impact across the whole business: current and future players,
supporters, sponsors. We need to take all that into account on the
next range of discussions with Toulon."
It is also believed the Bulldogs and NRL are in dispute over
spiralling legal fees, which are believed to be about $300,000.
"They will be large," Greenberg said. "The NRL promised at the start
that they would cover the legal fees. We've been in discussion with
Gallop about it."
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Oswald P Wrong
World Champion Tipster.
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4 +1200, Sir Oswald P Wrong
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