‘Worst contract ever negotiated’: Manly’s Schuster agreement criticised as the star’s official banishment is announced
Josh Schuster’s big-money return to Manly last season has been dubbed the “worst contract ever negotiated,” as the club confirmed his departure on Wednesday.
Schuster will now leave the Sea Eagles, according to a statement the team released, saying he will “explore other opportunities in his career.”
The statement said, “Today, Josh Schuster, a second-rower, and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles have mutually agreed to release him from the final three years of his contract.”
Tony Mestrov, the CEO of Manly, stated in the interim: “Sadly, it hasn’t worked out for both parties in the end.
Josh needs some time right now to concentrate on himself and what’s best for
Josh is a very talented player, as we all know, and we hope he can sign with a new team soon. We hope the best for him.
After he confirms his departure, the Sea Eagles will reportedly need to reimburse the 22-year-old for nearly $1 million.
Schuster signed a three-year contract extension in June of last year, reportedly with pre-season weight clauses, for an estimated $800,000 per season.
It is believed that during the summer, the second-rower’sweightdropped to a career-low of 112 kg before his fitness improved.
He was forced to miss Round 1 and then make his comeback via the New South Wales Cup due to a broken finger and calf injury that also interfered with his training.
He was told earlier this month by Sea Eagles representatives that he could quit the team right away if he could find another team. After that, he was given unrestricted personal leave.
This is now more serious and will result in a contract termination, which will be sealed in the next few days.
However, according to News Corp journalist Brent Read, he will get a $1 million payout as part of the mutual agreement, which “averages out to be $250,000 this year and the next three years.”
Read further stated during his appearance on NRL 360: “It’s important to understand that Manly’s cap is limited to $250,000. It makes no difference where he signs. It’s a mutually terminated agreement; Manly carry only
In response, NRL 360 host Braith Anasta remarked, “So it’s a great deal? Or is this the worst deal a football team has ever made in the history of the game?
Though Read acknowledged that “it’s probably on the podium (for worst deals),” they did a good job of negotiating their way out of it with their final move.
However, Anasta didn’t buy it and criticized Manly for their initial decision to re-sign Schuster for a large sum of money.
“We were all sitting here, shocked to learn that they had signed him for a whopping $800,000 a year. He was overweight, not training, and performing poorly at the time, he claimed.
“No other club placed a bid for him.”
Paul Kent, Anasta’s co-host, concurred and disclosed the club’s significant negotiation mistake.
“From the perspective of the club, it was the worst contract ever negotiated,” he declared.
“Despite their refusal to admit it, Manly were bidding and competing against one another.”
Manly increased in value the longer Schuster and his manager did nothing and there was no other bidder who kept raising the price.
“They weren’t aware that they were bidding against themselves, which made it an unusual deal.”
The bright side is that over the next three years, the Sea Eagles will have an additional $550,000 to spend.
Read anticipates using a portion of that to resign.
