WE’RE OK FOR CASH
Tigers deny salary cap crunch after Dusty deal
RICHMOND chief executive Brendon Gale insists the Tigers’ salary cap position remains “solid” for the future after star Dustin Martin recommitted to the club on a new multi-million-dollar deal.
Gale said yesterday the Tigers were always confident Martin would sign, but added the club’s offer to the raging Brownlow Medal favourite would not compromise its ability to attract or retain players in the future.
“It [the salary cap] is solid. We would never make a decision that we felt compromised our ability to reward and retain our current players and also attract new players,” Gale said.
“That’s part of the responsibility. We’ve got a responsibility to Dustin, we’ve got no interest in underpaying him, but we can’t overpay him either.
“We want to pay him his fair market value, but we’ve got a responsibility to surround him with the best possible environment for all our players to be as good as they can be and achieve the ultimate success.”
Martin has sacrificed more than $2 million to stay a Tiger for life. Gale said the midfield ace’s decision was a significant boost for the club on the eve of the finals as the Tigers prepare to face off against Geelong in next week’s qualifying final.
“It’s a boost, there is no doubt; it’s nice to have it resolved and off the table,” Gale said. “Most importantly it allows us to absolutely, fully focus on a huge finals series.”
Gale said the Tigers could not match the rich offer presented to Martin by North Melbourne.
“If it purely came down to money, Dustin would have been leaving Richmond Football Club,” Gale said.
“We couldn’t match an offer that was tabled, we simply couldn’t. So the environment was really important – re- lationships are perhaps the most important thing.
“Dustin has been very good for us, but there is a lot of people at this footy club that have been strongly invested in his growth as a footballer and as a man. So I think that was always going to be very important.”
Gale conceded Martin’s announcement of his new deal on The Footy Show had not been ideal for the club, but did not begrudge him chasing more “earn” after his financial sacrifice to stay a Tiger.