How does the Sharks alleged breach compare with those of the past?
Since the NRL's inception in 1998, there have been plenty of salary cap breaches. Most of these have fallen on the low end of the scale, with clubs handed slaps on the wrist or small fines for using too many players outside of their top 25 squad, or other errors that were, arguably, honest mistakes.
Then, at the other end of the scale we've seen massive, multi-year schemes to gain a competitive advantage. So where would the Sharks breach (reportedly in the $250,000 region) fall?
2010: Melbourne Storm
Breach Size: $3.78 million over five seasons
Punishment: Loss of two premierships, three minor premierships, a World Club Challenge, banned from competing for points for remainder of year, $1.7 million fine.
Arguably the largest-scale circumvention of a salary cap in professional sports, the Storm had accumulated an enviable roster and a bursting cabinet of trophies before it all came tumbling down – an insider blew the whistle on players being paid double and being awarded extravagant gift vouchers, boats and other perks without the NRL's knowledge.
Stars like Ryan Hoffman and Greg Inglis were forced to leave as the team had to frantically cut their payroll before the start of the next season.
2002: Canterbury Bulldogs
Breach size: $2.1 million over three seasons
Punishment: Loss of 37 competition points, banned from competing for points for remainder of year, $500,000 fine
There had been some small cap breaches in the fledgling years of the NRL, but by far the biggest and most shocking indiscretion came late in the 2002 season, with the ladder-topping Bulldogs expelled from the competition and awarded the wooden spoon. The club had agreed to co-operate with investigations after the breach was made public, but were caught trying to mask the severity of their situation in terms of the length of time they had been over-paying, and the amount.
2016: Parramatta Eels
Breach size: $500,000 in 2015
Punishment: Loss of 12 competition points and Auckland Nines title, $1 million fine
After already being slugged with a hefty fine the previous year for salary cap breaches, the Eels failed to get their house in order and were slammed with the biggest punishment since the Storm saga. A promising campaign was undone with the loss of 12 points, as well as the Nines trophy the club won in the pre-season – popular hooker Nathan Peats was sent to the Gold Coast as the club tried to manouevre under the cap. Unlike the Storm, the Eels were allowed to compete for points in their remaining games, but failed to make the finals.
2005: New Zealand Warriors
Breach size: $1 million over two seasons
Punishment: Loss of four competition points for 2006, $430,000 fine
Undisclosed payments which were made public in the beginning of 2006 saw the Warriors start the season on -4, rather than be retroactively punished for the 2004 and 2005 seasons where the breaches took place (they missed the finals in both seasons). This proved incredibly costly at season's end, with the Warriors narrowly missing the top eight due to being handicapped at the start of the year.
2017: Manly Sea Eagles
Breach size: $1.5 million over five seasons
Punishment: $750,000 fine, loss of $660,000 of salary cap room for 2018 and 2019
Unlike the Eels, the Sea Eagles were not docked points for their breach, but were forced to whittle down their cap by $1.3 million over the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Fifteen players were reportedly involved over five years, and the club are currently appealing their punishment.