Quote: sergeant pepper "IF he retires and we pay him off, does that then count against the cap?
I get the cap needs to safeguard against false situations created as a backdoor for getting rid of deadwood, but in this instance there's a major player welfare issue.
If paying him off does count against the cap, then it's almost forcing the club to keep trying different things. That's not good for GB and could seriously impact his long term health.
The club need to be able to strike a deal with him that, not only suits both parties financially, but also doesn't impact our cap spend too.'"
If you're going to pay him his full contract then you might as well count it and try to get something out of him to be fair. If you're trying to pay him less then there is negotiating to do, in which he holds the cards. Plus potentially the accusation of not supporting his return to work if we are trying to get him off the books rather than get him back on the pitch.