Berkeley_Eagle
Current Status: 24/7 Manly Fan
SEA Eagles commercial director Greg Butterworth is confident the club will turn around their financial woes and finish next year in the black.
In an exclusive interview, Butterworth said Manly had been putting measures in place to ensure the NRL club's long-term viability.
He would not comment on reports that the club may have to unload at least one player before they could register Brett Stewart's new contract.
But other sources have told the Manly Daily a Sea Eagles player was looking at moving to the European Super League next season.
If a deal could be arranged that would lower the club enough under the salary cap to ratify Stewart's deal.
Butterworth said reports the club had lost $1.5 million last year were incorrect.
"We are still finalising the numbers but the truth of the matter is that it appears we were short somewhere between $900-950,000 - and that is inclusive of the $500,000 grant that all the clubs got from the NRL," he said.
Butterworth added there was no doubt the Sea Eagles would be in deep trouble without their owners.
"But across the NRL almost every club would be in serious financial difficulty if they weren't able to go to their leagues club or their owners," he said.
"So whilst it is disappointing to report a $900,000 shortfall, in the industry we are in, strangely enough that was a pretty good result compared to the benchmark in the NRL at this time."
Butterworth said there was an increased focus on renegotiating some of the contract sponsorships to make the terms more favourable to the Eagles.
"That won't happen in one year because sometimes contracts have several years to run," he said.
Butterworth said the NRL would be providing clubs with a larger grant because of the new TV deal on the proviso they put business procedures in place to help them be sustainable.
"Throughout 2012 under (general manager) David Perry's management, we have put business procedures in place that the NRL is asking all clubs to do," Butterworth said.
"The increased grant plus improved sponsorship negotiations and contracts should certainly help us end up in the black next year."
http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/nrl-sea-eagles-well-bounce-back/
In an exclusive interview, Butterworth said Manly had been putting measures in place to ensure the NRL club's long-term viability.
He would not comment on reports that the club may have to unload at least one player before they could register Brett Stewart's new contract.
But other sources have told the Manly Daily a Sea Eagles player was looking at moving to the European Super League next season.
If a deal could be arranged that would lower the club enough under the salary cap to ratify Stewart's deal.
Butterworth said reports the club had lost $1.5 million last year were incorrect.
"We are still finalising the numbers but the truth of the matter is that it appears we were short somewhere between $900-950,000 - and that is inclusive of the $500,000 grant that all the clubs got from the NRL," he said.
Butterworth added there was no doubt the Sea Eagles would be in deep trouble without their owners.
"But across the NRL almost every club would be in serious financial difficulty if they weren't able to go to their leagues club or their owners," he said.
"So whilst it is disappointing to report a $900,000 shortfall, in the industry we are in, strangely enough that was a pretty good result compared to the benchmark in the NRL at this time."
Butterworth said there was an increased focus on renegotiating some of the contract sponsorships to make the terms more favourable to the Eagles.
"That won't happen in one year because sometimes contracts have several years to run," he said.
Butterworth said the NRL would be providing clubs with a larger grant because of the new TV deal on the proviso they put business procedures in place to help them be sustainable.
"Throughout 2012 under (general manager) David Perry's management, we have put business procedures in place that the NRL is asking all clubs to do," Butterworth said.
"The increased grant plus improved sponsorship negotiations and contracts should certainly help us end up in the black next year."
http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/sport/story/nrl-sea-eagles-well-bounce-back/
