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With Wests Tigers fullback James Tedesco set to become the NRL’s next million-dollar man, it’s worth discussing if any player is worth such a price tag.
There are reportedly five players making a million dollars or more a season: Daly Cherry-Evans, Kieran Foran, Billy Slater, Johnathan Thurston, and Cameron Smith.
Robbie Farah and Greg Inglis are said to be not far behind.
The current salary cap is $6.1 million to be distributed among the top 25 players. With the minimum NRL contract worth $80,000 a season, the least a team can be worth is $2 million.
A team with a ‘million-dollar man’ would be cutting it very tight, with $5.1 million being distributed among 24 players.
But a team like the Melbourne Storm are not paying guys like Cooper Cronk and Cameron Munster $80,000 a season.
With Slater and Smith accounting for over $2 million of the Melbourne salary cap, and Cronk and Munster taking up a further million or more, the Storm have less than half the cap to spend on 21 players.
With the minimum $80,000 contract, Melbourne would be spending $5.28 million.
But I doubt Will Chambers, Blake Green, Jesse Bromwich, Tohu Harris, Kevin Proctor and Marika Koroibete are on minimum contracts.
Now I’m not saying they’re over, because they have solved those problems already, but they are cutting it close.
Is a star quality player worth more than depth?
Cherry-Evans has been heavily criticised this season for under-performing, and as the highest paid player in the NRL, he should have Manly in the top eight.
Meanwhile, guys like Valentine Holmes and Josh Reynolds aren’t on million-dollar contracts, but are playing like they should be.
Of course, players like Thurston and Slater have proven themselves, but with Slater out injured again this season, Melbourne are paying a lot for someone to sit on the sidelines.
The truth is some players are worth it and some players are not, but rugby league cannot become a money hungry sport.
Do you think any player is worth one million dollars? Should the cap be increased to accommodate them, or should they play because they want to, not because of a paycheque?
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