First casualty emerges after Knights’ $2m clean out bombshell

A State of Origin star has been identified as the first player to leave the Knights after a $2m clean out bomb dropped.

The game was rocked on Monday night when it emerged Newcastle is reportedly well over the salary cap heading into the 2025 season and needs to slash players from its roster in coming months.

Recruitment guru Peter O’Sullivan has been given the task of squeezing the club under the cap for next year.

News Corp’s Brent Read first reported O’Sullivan will be looking at some of the club’s highest paid players.

It has now emerged that Daniel Saifiti will be the first player shown the door.

The former NSW State of Origin prop is under contract until the end of 2026, but he’s been told to explore other options for next season and beyond, according to the Newcastle Herald.

The Knights are facing the ugly scenario of paying some of Saifiti’s wages when he plays for another team next year.

According to the report, Saifiti is contracted to earn $750,000 per season.

His high price tag has not matched his on-field performances recently and he has been spending a lot of time on the bench.

“I think Stevie Wonder could see that our salary cap is not in the best position,” Saifiti told the Newcastle Herald.

“But they’ve been up front and honest, and I have to respect that.

“If I wanted to dig my heels in and stay, I could stay.

“But I love this club too much, if that’s the way they want to go … I’ll do what’s best for myself and my family, but I also have this club’s interests at heart as well.