Waratahs 2014

[Sir Arthur Higgins]

but it's not aboute money - or he would've stayed in the afl.
and if it is about the money, with the path he is on at the moment, he will be a wallaby this year and then post world cup in 2015 when he gets total international exposure he could make more money playing in france or japan than he ever could in league. he could easily be on 60,000 euros a week in france. over a 26 week season that's at least $1.56M without any sponsorship cash.
Even down here, once you make the wallabies you make more money than you do in league - given how exciting he is, the tahs and the ARU will want him around and will pay for it.

 

[Sir Arthur Higgins]

and from a good mate who played top 14 for quite a few years - rugby players pay basically no tax in france. he was on 150,000 euros a year and he reckons he paid less than 20,000 euros in tax......and he's been back to france since!

 

[qwerty51]

How much do you reckon he'd get in league? I reckon 700k max. I think rugby can match that.

 

[TOCC]

the sporting landscape is going to change with the NRL's growing salary cap..

It won't be long before the big name players in league are sitting on $1milliom/annum contracts

 

[JSRF10]

and from a good mate who played top 14 for quite a few years - rugby players pay basically no tax in france. he was on 150,000 euros a year and he reckons he paid less than 20,000 euros in tax..and he's been back to france since!

They also get two year salary tax free if they retire due to injury, there was an article in the UK papers on it recently. The French labour laws are good for something!

If it is about money the ARU should break the bank to keep him. He is on the way to becoming rugby's next superstar, and he is one of the few Tah/Wallabies player who is marketable to the "non traditional" rugby areas of NSW. He is clearly enjoying playing rugby, but he is a professional so lets make it worth his while to keep playing it.

 

[Rob42]

Whilst he's obviously worth plenty of cash for his pure ability, it does seem that Izzy's not keen on the promotional work associated with the role (and that's not a criticism). There was some talk when he left AFL that he was not keen on being used by the NRL as a counter-weapon in the code war with the AFL in western Sydney, which helped to push him away from the NRL. That after being used a promotional tool for 2 years by the AFL. I don't blame him for not wanting to be a pawn in those battles - perhaps one reason why he didn't sign for the Two Blues.

So I think it would not be wise for the ARU to plan to pay him a truckload for his promotional ability - he's just not into that, at least in terms of the shallow, PR appearance-type stuff. Just tell him that if he stays, he'll get to play lots of great footy, in great places, rather than running up and down within ten metres of a touchline and jump for the occasional kick for 26 weeks a year, as he would in the NRL.

 

[USARugger]

Because he realised staying in a code which he was no good at was going to be at the detriment of his future earning.. He obviously didn't have a future in the code, he needed to cut his losses and the more he played in lower grade Aussie Rules matches the lower his value was going to be when he wanted to return to rugby league..

Just his AFL contract alone was worth more per year than he is currently getting from the Tahs/ARU combined (I believe it actually may be more than double) and was also worth more than double the highest NRL offer he received during his AFL stint. It's not just about the money because if it was he would have finished his AFL contract and earned more in 2 years than he could have in 4 years at his highest earning potential in the NRL. Instead he joined Union which is a relative pay-cut compared to both codes. So no, I really don't think the numbers support any concept of it being 'all about the money'. There are other factors.

 

[USARugger]

How much do you reckon he'd get in league? I reckon 700k max. I think rugby can match that.

His big offer from the Eels before he hopped over from AFL was $3m over 4 years, so yeah you were pretty much right on.

Found this little gem in a Daily Telegraph piece while digging for Folau's contract numbers:

"And you can all but rest assured we won't be seeing him playing in Waratahs colours next season.
Their salary cap is stretched and they'd have to rely on a top-up from the Australian Rugby Union, which now more than ever, is hard to imagine.

Read more: http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/dean-ritchie-money-hungry-israel-folau-has-burnt-his-bridges-with-rugby-league/story-e6frf3ou-1226528730588#ixzz2RChfyYcg"​

 

[Slim 293]

His big offer from the Eels before he hopped over from AFL was $3m over 4 years, so yeah you were pretty much right on.

Found this little gem in a Daily Telegraph piece while digging for Folau's contract numbers:

"And you can all but rest assured we won't be seeing him playing in Waratahs colours next season.
Their salary cap is stretched and they'd have to rely on a top-up from the Australian Rugby Union, which now more than ever, is hard to imagine.

​

Read more: http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/dean-ritchie-money-hungry-israel-folau-has-burnt-his-bridges-with-rugby-league/story-e6frf3ou-1226528730588#ixzz2RChfyYcg"​

Wow, it's not in the story heading or the link, but if you look in your browser heading (like I am on my Mac) for that article it will read:

"I$rael has burnt his NRL bridges"

Mungo journalists are the worst.........

 

[Slim 293]

OK, I actually decided to read the article and it includes the line:

I$rael and his manager asked rugby league to wait two years while he went off and made millions playing AFL.​

​

Dean Ritchie........ you're an absolute tosser.........​

 

[USARugger]

Wow, it's not in the story heading or the link, but if you look in your browser heading (like I am on my Mac) for that article it will read:

"I$rael has burnt his NRL bridges"

Mungo journalists are the worst...

It comes up as I$rael when you Google search it and this is actually a direct quote from the end of the article: "You know what I$rael, we don't want you back."

Read more: http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/dean-ritchie-money-hungry-israel-folau-has-burnt-his-bridges-with-rugby-league/story-e6frf3ou-1226528730588#ixzz2RClsXkbE​

Honestly I don't think this piece is any worse than 9/10 of the Rugby journo pieces I see linked on here from the likes of such eloquent and informed men as Greg Growden.​

 

[Slim 293]

There's quite a bitterness from the loig journos that you wont' find so much in the other codes.........

 

[jay-c]

i wouldnt believe for one second izzy has burnt his bridges
they'll welcome him back as long as he doesnt beat his missus, i mean have alcohol problems, i mean shit in hallways
nah they've got no values~

 

[TOCC]

Just his AFL contract alone was worth more per year than he is currently getting from the Tahs/ARU combined (I believe it actually may be more than double) and was also worth more than double the highest NRL offer he received during his AFL stint. It's not just about the money because if it was he would have finished his AFL contract and earned more in 2 years than he could have in 4 years at his highest earning potential in the NRL. Instead he joined Union which is a relative pay-cut compared to both codes. So no, I really don't think the numbers support any concept of it being 'all about the money'. There are other factors.

Broncos offered more the Melbourne, AFL offered much more then rugby league, Tahs then offered more then Parra.. There seems to be a common trend :/

The bloke was 'not very good' at AFL, hence why he quit, yes he sacrificed the last 12 months of his GWS contract, but in the broader scheme of things that is a small price to pay.. If he had played out the year in reserve grade AFL as he wasn't up to the standard, his market value would have dropped further.

I've got nothing against the guy personally, but lets call it what it is...

 

[USARugger]

Broncos offered more the Melbourne, AFL offered much more then rugby league, Tahs then offered more then Parra.. There seems to be a common trend :/

The bloke was shit at AFL, hence why he quit, yes he sacrificed the last 12 months of his GWS contract, but in the broader scheme of things that is a small price to pay.. If he had played out the year in reserve grade AFL as he wasn't up to the standard, his market value would have dropped further.

Yes, but even if his market value dropped I don't think there are any figures which exist by which you could imply it would have dropped by enough to make the difference between his new contract and his AFL one anything but negative. He still had NRL teams scrambling to grab him after that long of 'mediocre' AFL so I doubt 1 more year would have done the guy in. Especially when you consider he's still a ways off from even being in his mid-twenties.

Tahs didn't outbid Parra, the ARU did. Huge difference there for me.

 

[TOCC]

Yes, but even if his market value dropped I don't think there are any figures which exist by which you could imply it would have dropped by enough to make the difference between his new contract and his AFL one anything but negative. He still had NRL teams scrambling to grab him after that long of 'mediocre' AFL so I doubt 1 more year would have done the guy in. Especially when you consider he's still a ways off from even being in his mid-twenties.

Tahs didn't outbid Parra, the ARU did. Huge difference there for me.

The conversation is on the value of the contracts. The point still stands that rugby union outbid rugby league, and unsurprisingly izzy then signed with rugby union..

He is a smart dude, he is definitely maximising his income potential and getting a lot of life experiences.. If he sticks around in union i look forward to seeing what he can do for the Wallabies..

But let's not kid ourselves, if rugby league comes knocking with a bigger contract then he will be gone faster then Flash Gordon.

 

[Rob42]

If his contract decisions are genuinely all about money, rugby can confidently assure him that he will earn more over the remainder of his career in the 15-man game. A few years here, the prospect of a very good top-up from the ARU if he continues to improve, and then a massive payday from France or Japan. The NRL can't compete with that. His French rugby pay will be far better if he is an established star in rugby than if he has to convert again from league. Money is really not going to be the issue for rugby, as hard as that is to believe.

 

[Sir Arthur Higgins]

They also get two year salary tax free if they retire due to injury, there was an article in the UK papers on it recently. The French labour laws are good for something!

If it is about money the ARU should break the bank to keep him. He is on the way to becoming rugby's next superstar, and he is one of the few Tah/Wallabies player who is marketable to the "non traditional" rugby areas of NSW. He is clearly enjoying playing rugby, but he is a professional so lets make it worth his while to keep playing it.

after 3 years of play there are some very significant social security benefits as well. i'll chat with my mate and get him to remind me.
either way, israel can get the same money from the ARU and Tahs as he could in league and then he can go to japan or france and make 1.5-2m a year - with limited tax and additional expenses.
I would imagine france would appeal to him as that is where a lot of mormon's go for missionary work (is he morman? i might have that wrong....)

 

[Hugh Jarse]

There's quite a bitterness from the loig journos that you wont' find so much in the other codes...

There is also huge insecurity in their articles. Always talking up "the game" and defending it from the other codes. Loig is a niche sport (rugby lite) played in the Eastern Seaboard of Australia (6 million pop), Auckland (1 million) and Northern England (10 million pop - guess - who cares what the pop is). Nowhere else. It is an unsightly pimple on the worldwide sporting landscape.

The biggest mungo game involves 1000 km travel from Sydney to BrisVegas. The second biggest game is a Grand Final of a domestic competition, followed by City vs Country in such exotic places as Wagga Wagga, and Coffs Harbour. They get a couple of thousand annually to watch the 14 year unbeaten run in the ANZAC tests get extended by another one. Mungo World Cup is a farce of the most extreme order. Yes they get lots of money via Australian FTA TV, but outside NSW and banjoland no one really cares. Their junior numbers are not growing despite the considerable millions pumped into supporting the code by the Poker Machine Clubs.

No wonder they feel insecure and feel the need to continue write up "their game" like it was a mutual admiration society newsletter.

 

[cyclopath]

I suspect he was unhappy in AFL, wanted back into League, they were stretched to get him a decent deal but happy for him to take a Rugby contract and get back into "shape" for League for a year, then switch back once the better deal can be unlocked. I don't doubt he's enjoying Rugby - that's easy to see, but I am sure his manager is calling all the shots. I think he's a decent guy, with a shark for a manager. Shame if he goes, as he could be a massive star in Rugby over coming years.