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Taumololo's Big Payday

davi

Juniors
Messages
1,932
Haven't the NRL already banned back-ended contract moving forward? Or at the very least restricted the levels and frequency.

Are you sure? Gus Gould suggested that on his podcast Jason Taumalolo deal will be lighter at the start and will be a higher salary in the back-end of the deal.
 

Nice Beaver

First Grade
Messages
5,920
Are you sure? Gus Gould suggested that on his podcast Jason Taumalolo deal will be lighter at the start and will be a higher salary in the back-end of the deal.

No, I could be wrong (I know - knock me over with a feather, right?)

I know there was definite talk about it after the Hasler decable at Manly, but it may have just been more hot air from the NRL.

I am sure they review every back ended contract and have final say on endorsing them.

I just thought it had been tightened up to the point of being negligible.
 

Iafeta

Referee
Messages
24,357
Yep. Unless there is a clause allowing him to void it or seek renegotiation, Taumalolo will be stuck with it. It certainly gives him security for the next 10 years, which if that was what he was after good luck to him.

Ahhh. The old honour your contract and be miserable routine. Never ends in disaster.
 

TheFrog

Coach
Messages
14,300
We saw last Saturday night just how important Lolo is to their team so he's definitely worth it.
He's definitely worth it now but 10 years is a very long time especially for a forward. It's funny what happens to players when they are no longer hungry.
 

AJB1102

First Grade
Messages
6,339
Didn't DCE re-negotiate his price during a contract? He was signed cheap from QCup, won a comp and made rep sides so wanted more and got it. Can't recall if that included an extension or not.
 

Usain Bolt

Bench
Messages
3,728
Paul Kent was dribbling on NRL 360 lastnight this was a good deal because the next TV deal is gonna go down and players will be paid less lol
 

Canard

Immortal
Messages
34,154
Paul Kent was dribbling on NRL 360 lastnight this was a good deal because the next TV deal is gonna go down and players will be paid less lol

Just doing his master's bidding.

Seriously I hate this f**kwit more than Buzz. He actually hates the game and yet claims to be a League supporter.
 

perverse

Referee
Messages
25,828
Paul Kent was dribbling on NRL 360 lastnight this was a good deal because the next TV deal is gonna go down and players will be paid less lol
It's not going to keep going up forever with the NRL not doing much to expand the game at all. There's a limit to how much the game can generate without attracting new markets.

The new deal will likely go up. After that, who could say? I don't know why everyone assumes the money train will continue indefinitely. The sports broadcasting landscape is likely to continue changing, and possibly not to the betterment of the sports.
 

leaguegod692

Juniors
Messages
91
i think there are pro's and con's for both sides for such a deal, alot of it being realted to the unknown events in the future, for which could make this a great or a terrible deal in the future for either party but for now, i like the deal for the cows.


there isn't many players that i'd want my club to sign to a 5 year deal but i still find myself think lolo getting 10 years is ok. just can't see him slowing down for a long while
 

Spade

Juniors
Messages
1,547
I'm assuming hed have in his contract his pay will increase as the salary cap goes up.
 
Messages
13,797
This article was published yesterday by the Sydney Morning Herald and has some interesting stuff in it -

ANALYSIS
March 22 2017 - 1:21PM

Jason Taumalolo cashes in but decade-long deals need closer scrutiny from the NRL
by Phil Lutton

Anyone who has watched Jason Taumalolo campaign over the past two seasons know he's the most outstanding forward in rugby league. A beast of a back-rower, with unmatched impact in his current form, it's easy to understand why the Cowboys want to retain his services at any cost.

Already, he's flirted with the idea of the NFL, although given the conversion rate for league forwards (currently standing at zero) that sounds more like thinking out loud instead of a genuine bargaining chip.

Maybe it had the Cowboys spooked. Certainly, they knew that if their freak of a lock hit the open market, rival NRL clubs would have been emptying the piggy bank, just as they did when Kalyn Ponga decided to take his talents to Newcastle.

The result has been a 10-year deal. Ten years. Jason Taumalolo, now 23, has been nailed down to Townsville until he's 33. It's going to be the richest deal in the history of the game purely by its length and exceeds Lance Franklin's nine-year stay at the AFL's Sydney Swans.

And it should ring alarm bells at the NRL, who must seriously consider capping the length of deals for the protection of clubs and fans instead of openly fawning at the idea of keeping Taumalolo locked to the code.

So is it time to rejoice for those in the tropics? Perhaps, in the short-term at least. With Johnathan Thurston nearing retirement and Ponga leaving, here's your superstar to build a team around. Every club needs one.

But make no mistake – this stands as an immense contracting gamble. The inherent risks are plentiful, obvious and to such an extent that there should be a genuine debate about whether the NRL should outlaw signings of such duration.

The details of the deal are sure to emerge over the coming days and the timing is curious, given the collective bargaining agreement has yet to be finalised and teams are waiting for the exact figures of their future salary caps.

It will likely be weighted towards the back of his contract, as was that of Franklin. For the first two years of his $10 million contract, the star Swans forward was paid around $700,000, which increased to $1.2 million, rising again in his seventh and eighth years before dropping slightly in his final season.

That type of structure has dangers of its own and rugby league is littered with back-ended contracts that have blown up in spectacular fashion. Robbie Farah was set to cost the Tigers almost $1 million in the final year of his weighted deal (Farah still gets $750,000 from the Tigers despite playing for Souths), while new coaches can inherit rosters with unworkable caps (think Geoff Toovey at Manly).

As a big man, there's legitimate questions on how effective Taumalolo will be as he ages and his body changes. Age hasn't been a barrier to some of the code's more recent elite back-rowers but Paul Gallen and Corey Parker, smaller bodies with games built on immense workrates, are different footballers than the rampaging figure of Taumalolo.

"There are risks for both parties but the upside outweighs that," Cowboys coach Paul Green told media at the official announcement. He also said the deal was thought up by Taumalolo's agent and initially caught them by surprise.

At stages during the next decade, the Cowboys are going to be getting one hell of a bargain, especially once the new TV deal kicks into gear. Taumalolo will be playing for well under his market value and could be earning closer to $2 million a year if he took a shorter deal there or elsewhere.

On the flipside, the Cowboys could find themselves freighting a million dollars a season down the track for a player that may be performing like he's worth half of that amount, or whose impact has been blunted by a mounting injury toll. By then, Green and perhaps all of the current players are likely to have moved on.

Overseas, in leagues such as the NBA, deals are capped at four years for a new player or five years for an existing player. It means players can take advantage of fat "max" deals but also helps ensure they get paid what the market determines at their prime.

At this stage, the Cowboys, Taumalolo and his management are to be congratulated for a deal that has set a new benchmark for rugby league. Whether that will be something worth celebrating in 2027 remains to be seen.

So it was Taumalolo's agent that came up with the idea for the 10 year deal in the first place.
 

blaza88z

Coach
Messages
15,065
Stupid deal, no doubt he is worth it (and probably more) in his current state but 10 years?

These contracts are becoming more and more frequent, I just struggle to see the motivation from the player's perspective if you're earning as much as the elite level are earning and you're locked away into a 5+ year contract, look at DCE and I know they're different positions but they signed him up on a similar contract, 2 years in and he's not performing at all on the level that Manly need him to be, Manly need DCE to be a Thurston equivalent on that sort of coin and he's simply not

Time will tell but this could easily backfire
 

muzby

Village Idiot
Staff member
Messages
45,708
4rui9w.png
 
Messages
3,070
The Good: Nice touch to add the red to the ends of the walking frame

The Bad: Those rheumatoid arthritic 3 fingered hands are bound to drop a few pills here and there
 

Charlie124

First Grade
Messages
8,509
Stupid deal, no doubt he is worth it (and probably more) in his current state but 10 years?

These contracts are becoming more and more frequent, I just struggle to see the motivation from the player's perspective if you're earning as much as the elite level are earning and you're locked away into a 5+ year contract, look at DCE and I know they're different positions but they signed him up on a similar contract, 2 years in and he's not performing at all on the level that Manly need him to be, Manly need DCE to be a Thurston equivalent on that sort of coin and he's simply not

Time will tell but this could easily backfire

Drawing comparisons with DCE is a little bit 'apples and oranges' really. Look at who DCE had in that Manly team around him when he was playing well enough to command a contract like his.
Jamie Lyon, Kieran Foran, Brett Stewart, Glenn Stewart, Steve Matai, Matt Ballin, Jason King, Anthony Watmough and possibly most important of all, Geoff Toovey.

Now look at the lineup he's working with... yuck.

I know Thurston is coming to the end of his career too but thats a problem for the Cowboys to manage by putting the right roster together, keeping the right players in key positions and letting go of the ones who don't fit into the plan moving forward. With Jase locked away now, we don't have to worry that our future (some would suggest current) forward pack leader and potential co-captain is going to be poached by a struggling club throwing stupid money at him
 
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