NRL to investigate Jack Wighton’s deal with South Sydney as salary cap stoush erupts

The NRL has vowed to open an investigation into Jack Wighton’s move to South Sydney after Canberra officials made a formal complaint to the league’s CEO Andrew Abdo.

According to News Corpthe Raiders have called on the NRL salary cap auditors to scrutinize the contract.

“The salary cap auditor will review the contract and test the market value,” Abdo said.

‘We have not received anything, yet [from South Sydney].

Wighton signed a four-year contract with the Rabbitohs and will join forces with former New South Wales teammates Latrell Mitchell and Cameron Murray from next season.

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said the salary cap auditor will review the deal

The Dolphins were also in contention for the New South Wales five-eight and Wayne Bennett spoke to Wighton late on Sunday night in an attempt to convince him to move to Queensland.

In the end, not even the veteran coach could stop the Raiders gun from signing with Souths, once again frustrating the NRL newcomers in their quest for a big signing.

And the deal has reportedly sparked a furious row over salary caps between the Raiders and Souths.

Canberra wants the NRL to scrutinize the deal when it is formally submitted by the Rabbitohs to ensure it meets the salary cap.

The Raiders also want to make sure the Bunnies’ deal matches their proposal, which brought in $1.1 million per season over four years.

Clearly, the offer was the most lucrative of the offers to Wighton, who will forgo about $1 million to sign with Souths, according to News Corp.

According to the The Sydney Morning HeraldWighton, who retired from representative footy last week, is poised to earn about $800,000 a season at Redfern.

The Bunnies are expected to argue that Wighton’s value should be based on a centre, where Jason Demetriou has indicated he will play, rather than his current role of five-eight.

Ricky Stuart (left) and the Raiders would be extremely disappointed to lose Crichton, while the Dolphins and Wayne Bennett (right) missed another marquee

In December, Souths re-signed Mitchell and Cody Walker through the end of 2027 and 2025 respectively. They also extended Tom Burgess’ deal through the end of next season and also re-signed Siliva Havili, Jacob Host and Cody Walker through 2025.

Wighton plans to add firepower to the Rabbitohs’ deadly left flank by starting his four-year contract at center, the position he played the most in his 10-game State of Origin career.

Wighton’s future has been the subject of intense interest since late last month, when 2020 Dally M medalist told the Raiders he would test the open market for the first time since signing as a teenager.

The 30-year-old had become synonymous with the Raiders during a first-class career spanning 12 seasons and 225 games, and given his close relationship with coach Ricky Stuart, the mooted move comes as a surprise.

The Dolphins and Rabbitohs emerged as the front runners to poach Wighton, despite previous links with the Wests Tigers and Parramatta.

The Redcliffe-based club failed to secure a great backbone player for their first season, so had the means to pay him a seven-figure salary.

The Rabbitohs, preliminary finalists in each of the past five seasons, appeared to have the best chance of the three suitors to offer Wighton a first premiership ring.

Wighton also has close friendships with fellow Indigenous stars Mitchell and Walker, as well as their South Sydney captain Cam Murray.

In Sydney, Wighton reunites with close friends and New South Wales teammate Latrell Mitchell and the native All-Star (left)

Wighton announced last week that he had retired from his State of Origin career

Wighton’s imminent arrival is a major coup for the Rabbitohs. He can play in any backline position, led the Raiders to the 2019 Grand Finals, and holds both a Dally M and Clive Churchill Medal.

He also performed consistently at the State of Origin and International level before announcing his representative retirement earlier this month.

The move also puts Canberra in the market for a five-eighth for 2024.

Luke Brooks, Shaun Johnson and Kyle Flanagan are among the halves expiring their contracts, while backup Raiders playmakers Brad Schneider and Matt Frawley also have no deals for next season.