August 19, 2008

SONNY Bill Williams cannot use the NRL as a bargaining chip when he negotiates a contract after his current French rugby deal expires.

In a major win for the Bulldogs, they have been successful in having a clause inserted that bans Williams from playing in the NRL until 2013. The clause has widespread ramifications.

It potentially strips hundreds of thousands of dollars from any future deals negotiated because Williams will not be able to threaten a return to the NRL as a bargaining tool.

It could also be potentially disastrous if Williams fails to succeed at rugby union, leaving him only England's Super League to play in when his deal with Toulon ends in 2010.

The former Bulldog has been left financially reeling after being forced to shell out $750,000 in compensation to the Bulldogs. The size of the payout is significant.

When powerbroker Graham Richardson first began negotiating a deal with Bulldogs chairman George Peponis and chief executive Todd Greenberg, his starting offer was $200,000.

The Bulldogs were insulted. When $750,000 was finally agreed, Williams and manager Khoder Nasser asked for more time to find the funds.

Their difficulty raising the amount revealed millionaire French owner Mourad Boudjellal did not come to their rescue, forcing the runaway footballer to scrounge the amount from his management company jointly owned by Anthony Mundine and Nasser.

Eventually the money was paid into the Bulldogs' bank account late Monday.

"The club has accepted a significant payout, the likes of which have never been seen in Australian sport," Greenberg said.

"We are pleased this chapter of the club's history is in the archive and we can put a fullstop on Sonny Bill Williams."

After receiving the money the Bulldogs went to the NSW Supreme Court and applied for the court injunction to be dissolved.

It frees Williams to legally begin his rugby career, where he hopes to play for New Zealand in the 2011 World Cup. He is unlikely to play in the NRL again.

Even before the clause was included, NRL chief executive David Gallop had indicated to the Bulldogs that they would not register Williams with a rival club during the time of his supposed contract.

Already bitten, the Dogs still felt comfortable only when the clause was written into their own deal.

Williams initially baulked at the insertion of the clause but Greenberg described it as a "deal breaker".

"That was something that we were not prepared to negotiate on," he said.

Williams and his supporters will argue he has no plans to return to the NRL, anyway. But that was incidental to the Bulldogs.

Given money has driven much of the motivation since the split, the clause's greater power is preventing him using the NRL as a bargaining chip in future contract negotiations.

By lessening his negotiating pool, it potentially costs him hundreds of thousands of dollars.