In the wake of Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks fullback Valentine Holmes quitting the club to pursue his dream of playing in the NFL, NRL hierarchy should be concerned that more players may follow suit if Holmes is successful, despite CEO Todd Greenburg stating that he’s not worried about a player exodus.
Holmes, along with Cowboys wrecking ball Jason Taumalolo, went to the US in late 2016 to train in front of talent scouts for several NFL franchises. Not only did they impress during their training session, several talent scouts requested both Holmes and Taumalolo return for another trial.
The NRL went on the offensive and added the NFL to the rule that players could not trial with other codes due to the risk of injury and the promotion of other codes, such as rugby union and AFL, while under contract with an NRL club.
Fortunately for the NRL and North Queensland, Taumalolo signed a ten-year deal keeping him in rugby league for the remainder of his career.
But that said, what are contracts these days?
Holmes still had one year to run on his Sharks contract before requesting his release. If he’s picked up by an NFL franchise, who’s to say it wouldn’t inspire Taumalolo or anyone else from requesting releases from their contracts to pursue the ‘NFL dream’?
(Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Holmes is a marquee talent. He’s a premiership winner, State of Origin and Test representative and a player whom the NRL would use to promote the code. Rugby league can ill afford to lose players of Holmes’ calibre.
He is now being compared to Jarryd Hayne in regard to his path pursuing his own dream to play in the NFL.
In 2015 Hayne received an unprecedented amount of press both in Australia and in the US when he walked away from a million-dollar contract with Parramatta to pursue his NFL dream but without no franchise to go to. He trained hard, showcased his skills and was eventually picked up by the San Francisco 49ers. He unexpectedly made their 53-man squad and played eight NFL games.
Despite cutting his NFL career short to chase his next dream of playing Rugby 7s at the Olympics, Hayne eventually returned to the NRL, where his market value had increased despite being out of the game for almost two years. He signed with the Gold Coast Titans on a contract worth $1.2 million per season.
If Holmes’ path receives the same amount of media coverage as Hayne did and he’s successful in securing a contract with an NFL franchise, the Valentine Holmes brand could significantly increase in value with a rich contract and endorsement deals should he choose to one day return to the NRL.
That in itself would surely be an appealing option for NRL players to seriously consider.
The NRL has been rather fortunate over the past few years with the serious decline in popularity of rugby union in Australia as well as the failed AFL experiments of former rugby league stars Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau, which have made those codes an unappealing option for current NRL stars.
If Valentine Holmes fails in his goal to play in the NFL, it may deter other NRL players from considering the NFL as an option as well.
Superspud
Roar Rookie
Ah there is more to a sport than the strength of the elite level teams. I think it is fair to say that union is still strong in the grass roots.
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
peeeko, take of the tin foil hat. Not everything in sydney sports media is a conspiracy.
Rebel334
Roar Rookie
Going forward Rugby will become the NRL's biggest issue. It obviously isn't going to be here in Australia, but if the trajectory of the wages in Europe could reach a tipping point where players can comfortably earn 2-3-4 times what they could in the NRL, and with their transferable skills it could possibility open a well trodden pathway in the next 10-15 years of players up North. Could mean that other than the AFL (basically because there isn't any other competitions) all the major footy codes in this country will become glorified feeder leagues.
Adz Sportz
Roar Guru
NRL should give clubs a salary cap exemption to chase some of Rugby Union's best talent!
Adz Sportz
Roar Guru
That's not the point Matt. The game will always go on, but no code wants to lose their star plays.
Adz Sportz
Roar Guru
It's actually a really good idea, probably unrealistic though. NRL clubs should be able to recruit players who don't make it in other codes such as the NFL, and have their salaries exempt from the salary cap in order to increase participation and develop more players in order to expand the game.
Adz Sportz
Roar Guru
Well I don't just make things up. I get my info from media reports, who quoted the talent scouts at the time. I do try my best not to be foolish when I write something haha I don't think there was any doubt that Hayne was going to be cut, but he did quit, regardless of how anyoe wants to spin it. As far as Holmes is concerned, if those scouts weren't impressed with his training session when he was over there in 2016, I don't think Holmes would have considered giving the NFL a crack.
Matt H
Roar Guru
I believe that in this case the sky might actually be falling !!!!! Really, I don't remember Rugby League falling off the map when the likes of Sailor, Tuqiri and Rogers went to union. This will be no different.
Nat
Roar Guru
I think that is the opportunity Sammy is referring too. So many wannabe NFL players don't make it that the idea of league could be a suitable option B. The NRL just need to gain the awareness of this option for those players.
peeeko
Roar Guru
i think you have a few issues but you can keep believing the sydney sports media. yeah, he quit. just like the guy who jumped off the bridge at gunpoint
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
Probably some fair points here. Nrl's main rival was union as far as luring players. And why would anyone want to play union anymore? The game is almost dead in aus. Wallabies are as weak as they've ever been. Super 15 teams cut. And the big coup signings from the afl succeeded from a marketing and PR perspective early on but that quickly faded off and Izzy and Karmichael weren't even close to being worth the money spent on them, at least as far as on field performance was concerned. So it seems the next big challenge for nrl is to fight off the nfl as far as losing their big name players. If Val is successful, it would give other players the belief they could make it too.
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
Sounds good on paper, especially because the nrl are trying to promote the game in the states. But rugby league is a gold fish swimming in the pacific ocean compared to the nfl and they want to make it on their own. And after the american league side lost against jamiaca, that would turn people off rugby league
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
peeeko are you one of those guys/girls who reads media reports while wearing a tin foil hat? Did that actually happen or did the media just hype it? Media sensationalism? Lies from the media? These journos have no clue? Am I right peeeko? Was Hayne going to be cut? Probably. But the fact is, he did quit. That's a fact.
Sammy
Guest
The NRL should support players who are brave enough to have a crack at the NFL, but at the same time they should exploit the publicity and promote Rugby League in America. A partnership with the University of Hawaii could be mutually beneficial to Hawaii's bid for an NFL team and could also lead to the establishment of a Hawaiian Rugby League team drawing players from the American Colleges and Polynesians from the South Pacific. If the NRL were smart they would look to forming an alliance with the NFL.
peeeko
Roar Guru
“Not only did they impress during their training session, several talent scouts requested both Holmes and Taumalolo return for another trial.” Did that actually happen or did Sydney media just hype it ? Hayne didn’t quit NFL - everyone knows he was going to be cut