Bulls captain Luke Graham says he rejected the chance to extend his Bulls deal.
In his blog, Graham says he had a clause in his current contract with the offer of a deal for next year:
Truth be told I had an option to stay at Hereford United written in my contract in my favour on the same terms as last season for another year. That was because I turned down two deals with arguably better clubs who offered me two year contracts last summer. I wanted to build on my first year at Hereford and then see how the following season went. Yet with all their financial problems I didn’t want to extend my contract for next season, a contract I believe they can’t afford anyway. They are having enough trouble paying me my current contract at the moment. It is hard sitting here as I write this not getting paid, when I am getting married this Saturday and will be starting to build a family.
I have to make it clear I don’t earn lots of money. In my first year at Hereford, one particular player earned 77k in his season. They are things of the past and no one player earned half that this season. I have to consider the commute from Northampton to Hereford and how much each journey costs. Also consider staying away from my family from two to four nights a week. If you are injured, you will be in every day Monday to Sunday at most clubs. You start to realise what sacrifices you have to make to be a professional footballer. That’s if you get your money paid on time every month! So after the last two seasons I will be looking for a secure pay cheque that is for certain.
The full blog is on his site: http://thelukegrahamblog.wordpress.com/ where he adds that he has turned down moves to two other Conference sides already.