Bristol Bears are being forced to enter a fire sale owing to a salary-cap blunder.
Second row Dave Attwood on Thursday signed for his former club Bath as Bristol struggle to balance the books. Several other top players, including centre Antoine Frisch and wing Luke Morahan, are being linked with departures to ensure the club stay under the Premiership salary cap for next season after a major administrative error.
When the Premiership clubs voted two years ago to reduce the salary cap from £6.4 million to £5 million for the 2021-22 season, a lot of clubs, including Bristol, took advantage of a clause that allowed them to count 75 per cent of existing contracts against the revised cap.
In Bristol’s case, the majority of players signed “two plus one” deals, which is a two-year contract with an option of a third on the same terms unless either party decides to pull out by a set deadline. It is understood Bristol intended to release six players, whose contracts were worth an estimated £400,000. However, they missed the deadline, meaning the third-year extensions had already kicked in. A club spokesman declined to comment on Thursday night.
Even if those players are paid off, it is understood that would still count against the salary cap, so Bristol are now having to make savings wherever they can. Including their marquee players, Bristol had one of the biggest wage bills in the Premiership and an emergency board meeting was convened when the mistake came to light in March. They have also committed to signing England prop Ellis Genge and Sale fly-half AJ MacGinty for next season.
Yet offloading players is no simple matter. Many other clubs are struggling to balance the books with the “existing contract” clause coming to an end. It is estimated that up to 30 players could be left without a club this summer.
After winning the Challenge Cup two years ago and finishing top of the Premiership last season, Bristol are experiencing a difficult campaign and are 10th in the league.
Losing Attwood, who was born in Bristol and is one of the club’s most consistent performers, will be seen as another blow.
“Dave has been an excellent servant during his time with the club,” Pat Lam, the director of rugby, said. “He’s been a key part of our leadership group and a positive ambassador for our team culture.
“We are grateful to Dave for everything he has contributed and he can be proud of what he has achieved in a Bristol shirt. Dave leaves with our best wishes at the end of the season and we know he will be fully invested in helping us finish the campaign strongly.”
