Hunt resigned from SuperSport United last week to take over at The Students, but Ferreira insists that the reported figures are a complete fabrication.
“I am accustomed to all kinds of reporting when it comes to South African football, but to suggest that Gavin Hunt received a combined package (salary plus signing-on fee) of approximately R20million is beyond any limits of reasonable reporting,” he tells snl24.com/kickoff.
“It is not ridiculous, it is obscene! And it borders on outright maliciousness.
“Some of the top coaches in the world don't come close to the suggested numbers and only someone with a wild imagination can suggest that any South African club can afford that kind of a package.”
An employee of Stellar Africa, the agency that represents Hunt, echoes Ferreira's sentiments, saying: “Bidvest is a listed company, which means they are obliged to show their books. Do people really think Brian Joffe is so foolish that he would throw that amount of money at someone, knowing that the figure will be revealed?”
According to the Stellar employee, who refused to speak on the record, Hunt is being paid “in line with the other top-earning coaches in the League”.
Kaizer Chiefs' Double-winning coach Stuart Baxter and his Mamelodi Sundowns counterpart Pitso Mosimane are understood to be the best-paid coaches in the PSL.
Baxter is earning a salary estimated to be between R450 000 and R500 000 a month, while Mosimane's salary is believed to be closer to R600 000.
Hunt himself has said: “I know three or four coaches in the PSL who earn far better than I do.”
A more likely figure would be somewhere in the region of R500 000 per month – still great money for the former SuperSport coach. However, Ferreira insists that Hunt's salary will remain confidential.
“We are acutely aware of who is behind this kind of reporting and what they are trying to achieve,” he says.
“There are no ‘sources' behind this story because no-one other than Mr Joffe, Gavin Hunt and I are privy to the package. These figures were thumb-sucked and thrown out there for public consumption as if they were true.”