Carney sacrifices $1m to stay put

Todd Carney ... signs new Sharks deal three months after ASADA story broke. Source: BRETT CROCKFORD / AAP

As they celebrated Todd Carney's signing, Cronulla officials were also coming to terms with the first true indication of just how much the ASADA investigation has cost them.

Carney was on the verge of re-signing when the drugs probe hit the club in mid-February, claiming football manager Darren Mooney amid the early bloodshed.

		W	L	D	B	PD	Pts
1	Storm	7	1	0	0	79	14
2	Rabbitohs	7	1	0	0	54	14
3	Roosters	6	2	0	0	126	12
4	Sea Eagles	6	2	0	0	83	12
5	Knights	5	3	0	0	66	10
6	Titans	4	4	0	0	15	8
7	Broncos	4	4	0	0	12	8
8	Cowboys	4	4	0	0	10	8
9	Raiders	4	4	0	0	-69	8
10	Bulldogs	3	5	0	0	-17	6
11	Sharks	3	5	0	0	-18	6
12	Dragons	3	5	0	0	-62	6
13	Panthers	2	6	0	0	-42	4
14	Warriors	2	6	0	0	-69	4
15	Eels	2	6	0	0	-72	4
16	Tigers	2	6	0	0	-96	4

After Carney had rejected the club's first offer over summer, Mooney almost had his No.1 retention target locked away when the former Sharks board swung the axe through the football department.

Vital as he might be to Cronulla's attack and chances of attracting top backline talent, Carney was no longer the stricken club's priority over the ensuing weeks.

Their focus on facing ASADA's investigation opened the door for rivals to apply the heat to Carney. The Warriors led the charge with an offer that exceeded $1 million a season.

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But the most real threat came from Penrith supremo Phil Gould, who had cash to splash after his $5 million bid for Johnathan Thurston failed in March.

A fellow resident of the Sutherland Shire, Gould had Carney's ear and by last weekend was convinced he had his signature to boot.

It's understood Penrith's five-year offer equated to around $4.5 million, a figure that Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan could not match.

"I was concerned, because the other offers were huge," Flanagan said.

"When you've got someone like Phil Gould ... he can be very persuasive.

"I knew the Panthers had made Johnathan Thurston a big offer and I was worried that a lot of that money was going toward Todd."

In response, Cronulla had to up the ante to have any chance of keeping their chief playmaker. Originally intent on re-signing Carney for three years, they ended up matching the five-year term of Penrith's offer.

But the financial package - believed to be worth around $730,000 a season - is well above the deal Mooney was about to finalise before the ASADA storm broke.

Some Sharks officials reckon the difference is about $1 million over the course of Carney's contract, a massive amount for a club that still can't attract a major sponsor or stadium naming rights holder.

"The ASADA investigation really set us back because we had to just put everything on hold," Flanagan said.

"But at no stage did Todd worry about that.

"His main concern was the big money on offer elsewhere, but this contract was about a lot of other things than money.

"It was about his girlfriend (Lauryn Eagle), his lifestyle and his mates.

"At no stage did he ever come to me and say, 'you need to do this or that or else I'm gone'.

"If he was really thinking about leaving, I'm sure he would have done so."

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