The Newcastle Knights have sacked Russell Packer following last week's sentencing of the National Rugby League player to two years' jail for a drunken assault.
The club has issued a statement saying Packer has been formally advised his contract had been terminated.
The former New Zealand Warriors forward was last week handed a two-year jail sentence, which he is appealing, after being found guilty of assaulting a man in Sydney last November.
The Knights chief executive Matt Gidley says there was never any doubt the club would terminate Packer's employment following the sentencing however they had to wait to advise him in person of the decision.
The NRL had earlier refused to register Packer's three-year contract with the Knights after the Integrity Unit investigated the incident.