The Sonny Bill Williams saga came to a predictable, yet tortured, end yesterday with the Bulldogs accepting a $750,000 cash settlement in return for the release of their former No.1 star.
More league
The Eels tame West Tigers
Wallace has to pick it up against Prince
“We’ve put a full stop on the Sonny Bill Williams file, we’ve placed this chapter into the club’s history and archives,” Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg said.
“As far as I’m concerned, the book on Sonny Bill Williams is now closed.”
A little over three weeks after walking out on the Bulldogs less than one year into a five-year deal, Williams is now free to forge ahead with a career in French rugby union.
His first game as a free man will be in Toulon’s pre-season friendly against Saracens on Thursday morning (AEST), where he is expected to line-up in the centres as he continues his crash-course in the 15-man game.
While the journey featured threats of arrest, seizure of assets and even jail time for the runaway footballer, Williams’ bid to escape the clutches of the Bulldogs ended the only way it ever could – with the NRL club agreeing to a price for his release.
The club had forced Williams’ hand by successfully gaining a court injunction last week preventing him from playing with Toulon while under contract with the Bulldogs.
“The club’s received a significant payout, one of the biggest in the history of Australian sport,” Greenberg said.
“I’m happy that we’ve got a full stop on it, there’s no winners in this saga.
“The Bulldogs have lost a player they’ve developed since the age of 16, one of the best players to come through our club. The game has lost one of its significant profiles and for Sonny Bill himself, he’s made some decisions that he’ll have to live with for the rest of his life.
“There’s no fairytale ending at the end of this, there’s no one running around the Bulldogs club yelling and screaming with delight. This is actually a relatively sad day.”
Williams’ associate and boxing champion Anthony Mundine reportedly spent yesterday gathering the funds required to gain the release.
Mundine also claimed his management company would foot the bill, which he believed was a bargain.
“I was willing to go a lot more, it’s all good, 750 we can stop there,” Mundine told the Nine Network.
The settlement also put an end to any court action by the Bulldogs towards Williams’ manager Khoder Nasser or Toulon for enticing a breach of contract.
While the Bulldogs closed the door on Williams yesterday, their former prized asset could leave a lasting legacy, with the club struggling to replace his sizeable $400,000 chunk in next year’s salary cap.
The club is believed to be close to confirming the signing of Brisbane winger Darius Boyd, but the Broncos youngster won’t come close to matching Williams’ pay-packet.
Asked if the club could be left playing short of the $4.1 million cap in 2009, Greenberg said: “Could be.
“That’s not our plan, we’d like to be able to spend that sort of money.
“There’s no ready-made fix to actually spend that money at the moment.
“We’ll be looking for players, we’re in the market now.”
mudskipper
Guest
Bulldogs and ethics don't go together...remember their breach of salary cap in 2002...over seasons over by more than 1 million... Sold their club to Super League for 32.5 million... and infamous the Coffs Harbour resort episode dropped due to insufficient evidence…Player drugs charges…who effectively got off with a fine and played on…just to name a few questionable events... The proclamation, “We are what we do most often”…should appear above the Bulldogs Club House entrance …Channel 9 should do a TV mini series on the Bulldogs...
p diddy
Guest
Of course it is about money. Money is the reason league clubs put their loyal older players on the market when they want to invest in younger talent....Kennedy, Petero, Matt Johns and hundreds more. Money is the reason the Bulldogs couldn't pay any more to SBW when Mason & O'Melley et al where there. Money was the reason SBW gave for leaving as he expected (or hoped for) a little more once Mason & O'Melley et al left. Money is the reason they pay bugger all to the hundreds of reserve grade players who never quite make it into the premiers whether by their lack of skill, opportunity or worse a career ending injury. Loyalty and passion is in general a very attractive marketing concept, a concept that all marketers of all products try to establish in their brand. That is not to say it doesn't exist in massive amounts in teams, players and fans, it does but at the negotiation table it is all about money. And this is where the league pundits arguments against SBW are often meaningless. The most common rant from the boys on 2GB, the Footy Show or in the Telegraph are based on the ethics and morals of SBW. I would suggest that ethics and morals are the almost antithesis of a contract. I am sure CH9, 2GB, Ray Hadley et al wouldn't believe me if I promised to pay them for some ads. They would want a contract, even if I could produce references testifying to my morals and ethics. They are not acting unethically or immorally, they are reverting to the law of the land as we all do in most any transaction. They days of going to court based purely on a spoken word, or honour are gone now. It is all about the contract. Yes SBW may have owed more to his team mates and fans, but his relationship with the Bulldogs was entirely a legal one. As was shown by the injunctions invoked by the NRL Sonny appeared to have good reason to sneak out, there was a risk if only slight that he would be stopped from leaving the country. He chose to mitigate that risk. What if SBW signed a contract for under his true worth because of the salary cap? Legal? Good ethics? What if the Bulldogs knew this and still chose not to pay him more when they had more? Legal? Good ethics? Good luck to him, and good luck to league. Both have some even more trying times ahead!
matta
Guest
Peter - thank christ someone else sees it.
Peter K
Guest
No winners here, what crap. SBW was way overrated in league, out injured a lot etc, compared to guys like Inglis. So the bulldogs have the 400k back from SBW and an extra 750k minus legal expenses. Sounds like a winner. The NRL gets enormous publicity for a sport that is struggling. They also get to play the tough guy and put up a plausible pretence they can stop guys leaving for better pay. They won as well. SBW gets to live a better lifestyle and earn a lot more money, he is a winner as well. All this has been about is the MONEY all along, the rest has been a pantomine show put on for the loyal fans, who somehow still believe that league is still about old fashioned values instead of just a business driven by profit.
matta
Guest
well what do you know - Money talks on both sides of the fence... oh but Sonny is the bad guy? ah yeah he has to be because the good ol (white) boys that run the game are far more respectful than that......(I am being about as sacastic as I can here)