EXCLUSIVE: Phil Gould says Eels have ‘got to fix’ bizarre contracts after agent’s awkward leak
Phil Gould says Parramatta has “got to fix” its contract situation or risk the Dylan Brown saga dragging on throughout the season.
Brown is signed to the Eels until the end of 2032 but has a number of triggers in the deal which effectively give him several opportunities to leave.
His agent was caught out over the off-season emailing the 16 other NRL clubs asking for expressions of interest in his client, who is said to be earning more than $1 million a season.
The email was leaked, leaving his manager Chris Orr red-faced and the Eels again in the spotlight over the bizarre clauses.
Brown’s halves partner Mitchell Moses also has an option in his deal to quit before his contract expires.
Over the weekend, Eels boss Jim Sarantinos said the club is working with the agents to plug holes in a number of player contracts.
“They’ve got to fix that,” Gould told Wide World of Sports’ Six Tackles with Gus podcast.
“You can’t have your marquee players, and particularly your playmakers, having options to get out of the club every couple of years. It just doesn’t make sense.
“You can’t give up that much just to negotiate to get them in in the short term.
“That’s something they’ve got to rectify.”
Gould says the issue will only continue to fester and make headlines until the Eels can rectify the contracts.
“They’ve got to get those options out of the contract, that’s what they’ve got to do,” he said.
“Whether that costs them money, or negotiation, I don’t know what.
“I don’t know how the contracts are structured, but on January they put Dylan Brown on the market… everyone was saying he was signed to 2032, all of a sudden he’s on the market in 2026.
“It doesn’t make sense.”
Parramatta battled last year and ran 15th, with coach Brad Arthur sacked.
When asked if he sees the Eels playing finals this year, Gould responded, “there are better credentialed teams around at the moment”.
Gould queried the club’s decision to let experienced prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard walk to the Titans.
“Campbell-Gillard is a huge loss, I just didn’t understand that,” Gould said.
They also let club captain Clint Gutherson go to the Dragons, while the Panthers pinched boom rookie Blaize Talagi.
The Eels kick off their season against Melbourne on March 9.
Sydney Swans captain Callum Mills will miss the club’s first three games of its premiership campaign due to injury.
The star midfielder won’t be available for Sydney’s clash with Hawthorn, nor the club’s games against Brisbane and Fremantle, after suffering a tear in his plantar fascia, the thick band of tissue that joins the heel bone with the toes.
Sydney is hoping he will be fit to face North Melbourne in round four, following a bye in round three.
