Do the Knights actually have huge amounts of money to throw around? Their roster is shit but there are some players that they've had to throw cash at to leverage them away from their previous clubs. Buhrer, Hodkinson, just because they're not playing right now doesn't mean they're not factored in the cap. The Mata'utai brothers played chicken with them, signing with the Bulldogs in order to get bigger deals. And they're paying the vast majority of Sims' contract. Who knows what money they've had to offer their lesser players simply to keep them? The million they offered Scott might be all they have left and it won't go far.
Sounds like I'm bagging them but I'm actually not - it's simply the situation they're in, poor performances, not the trendiest location, have to pay massive overs just to attract talent.