“We have had no official decision from Dean so there is still a lot of water to flow under the bridge. We remain hopeful he will play with Essendon in 2004,” Jackson said.
“However I also think that in fairness to this club and its supporters, some facts need to be pointed out that were disappointingly omitted from some media reports this morning.
“Given a reasonable season and under the terms of our latest offer, Dean has the capacity to earn the amount of money he requested. I want to be very clear with our supporters on this point.
“But it is our understanding that he has been offered a $400,000-a-year contract over four years by a rival club. In effect, a $1.6 million non-performance based contract. This club could not and would not match this figure.
“As a club, it is our responsibility to rationalise payments to players relative to our list. We have to be fair and equitable with all players – our past three best and fairest winners for example - and that would not be the case if we matched such an offer. Total Player Payment constraints mean we simply can’t match that figure anyway.”
