Quote: sally cinnamon "The way I would simplify the cap is to have no limit on overall spend but say each club can only have 20 players earning above X salary, and only 6 players earning above Y salary.
You then set X as being what would be a reasonable benchmark for a first team regular.
Set Y as being what would be a reasonable benchmark for a top class international player.
The effect of this one would be that the richest clubs could pay whatever they wanted for their very elite players, but you couldn't get a club hoarding all the top talent, because once their top 6 players had been accounted for, they were then facing a salary limit of Y for the any other player on their books. So the guys who were say the 7th and 8th best players at a top club would then be likely to move to another club who had space on its quota of 6 players above Y salary.
It wouldn't be a perfect system by any means but it would keep the top players away from union and it would distribute talent around the league, after a few years under that system you would hope that each club had at least 6 big gun players.'"
The idea is fine - as far as it goes, but it only covers [icontract[/i money from the club and not 'extras' , like image rights, from the 'perfectly legal' non club -connected, third-party sources. The RFL have the power to look through a club's books, but obviously not the book's of an owner/sponsor or business partner of owner/sponsor, who would find it very easy to 'lose' large amounts when paid through various company accounts and not even necessarily paid in this country. Though clearly I wouldn't accuse anyone of indulging in such a scheme, as I'm sure all clubs are above reproach on this, but it could be done quite easily.
