It was supposed to be so easy. Just take back the DVD, withdraw that extra money, tell mum I wouldn’t be back for tea, then grab my savings and hurry.
I don’t know that the opening lyrics of The Streets’ 2004 masterpiece is entirely applicable to David Fifita – I mean, he’s probably never even seen a DVD, but on the other hand, you should always tell your mum if you won’t be back for tea – but the title of the album is well worth ruminating on.
A grand don’t come for free.
Except, in David’s case, it’s five hundred grand.
For the uninitiated, Mike Skinner created a concept album in which the central character loses a thousand pounds and isn’t sure which of his mates has, obviously, come to his house and pinched it.
He discovers at the end – spoilers for a 16-year-old album – that none of his mates had done the dirt on him, the shoebox full of dough had simply fallen down the back of his TV.
Dave, here’s the good news: even if you decide to take the extra half a mill the Titans are offering you each year in cash, you’ll never lose it down the back of the telly. It won’t fit.
I know when we’re talking contract offers for top-class rugby league players, it’s all essentially imaginary. There are guys who are on $450,000 and complain they’re being underpaid. They clearly have no idea what money is worth.
And that’s not me having a potshot at the prices thrown around or the players earning it. You’re worth what someone’s willing to pay.
So it’s probably good advice to Fifita that there’s more to footy than just cash and he should go where he’ll be happy, win premierships, become a better player, and continue his representative career.
But the offer to go to the Gold Coast isn’t a little bit more than what he’ll get to stay put in Brisbane.
Word is the Broncos have tabled a deal worth $750,000 a year. That is an eye-watering sum in anyone’s books.
But the little club down the coast have absolutely blown it away with a reported $1.25 million-a-year contract.
Go where you’ll be happy. Win premierships. Become a better player. Continue your rep career.
David Fifita for the Maroons. (Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Or make an amount of money that sets you up for the rest of your life by the time you’re 26.
Because that’s what this offer is: rest-of-his-life money.
By staying put at Red Hill, Fifita is missing out on $2.5 million. Yeah, taxes and agents and whatever, but those expenses are present wherever he ends up.
This is a financial prospect that’s frankly irresponsible to turn down. Be too bad if he was a 20-year-old, or a footy player, or the kind of guy who ends up in jail in Bali.
Oh, right.
Dave, whoever is talking to you had best have put this in perspective, because while the Broncos are going to make you a very wealthy man (well, they’ve already done that), the Titans are giving you ‘retire in five years’ money.
I’m not even kidding.
By just banking the extra $500,000 a year at a decent rate, by the time you hit the end of the deal – provided the world has, as we’d expect, recovered from its current economic malaise – if you wanted to give the game away, you’d have enough money to just live off the interest at the same rate as the average Australian.
Except you’d have also paid off several mortgages with the other $700,000 per year you’re making, so the third of the salary most put away in rent or mortgage payments could be spent on… anything!
Not for nothing either, but it’s not like you’re leaving the Roosters and an annual shot at a title.
David Fifita of Australia. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)
It’s broadly accepted that the Broncos will get themselves out of the current hole they find themselves in, simply because they’re too big and too wealthy to stay down for too long.
And that makes sense, but there is a rebuild going on and I wonder if a premiership window is going to open in the next five years. I’m not saying it can’t, but it’s no guarantee.
As for the Titans, yesterday they announced the signing of Herman Ese’ese, who will join boom Storm rookie Tino Fa’asuamaleaui on the glitter strip in 2021. Add those two to a pack containing Moeaki Fotuaika, Ryan James (fingers crossed) young Beau Fermor, and David Fifita? That squad could claim some big scalps.
Even with Fifita there, I’m not confident of the Titans winning a title any time soon, but they’re about as likely as the Broncos.
Also, David, David, David. It’s an extra half a million dollars per year. That is just so. Much. Money! And with the salary cap likely to be frozen, if not go down, in the coming years, this is not an offer that will likely come along again.
Take the five years. Take the money. You might not win a title, but you’re so young that there will still be plenty of time to do that later. This offer won’t come up again.
Withdraw that extra money, tell mum you won’t be back for tea, then grab your savings and hurry.
JJ
Guest
"If you use a super basic comparison like population between US and Aus(they have 13 times more people than we do)" Um, no point in such a comparison. Needs to be looked in conjunction with broadcast deal, gate money, mass sponsors and other financial backing. There is no way to compare the 2. Besides, the NFL is the best sport product on the planet. Ps go Brisbane Broncos Pps farrrk we suck right now
mushi
Roar Guru
Compare it to the absolute pinnacle of other industries though not the front line. These guys are at the sub 1% of people trying to get that job. Comparing it to a cabbie or retail worker is disingenuous
Joe
Roar Rookie
Hi NickoM, just going by the reports on what was offered. $200-$300 is still a whole lot of money. That's buy a flat money in some areas. I think still worth moving for 1 year if he backs himself to have the same price tag. Of course with all that's happened with the game, there's no guarantee but the 1.25 mil or whatever price is guaranteed so might as well. I see Te'Maire Martin and before that Yow Yeh whose careers just get cut short and you think might as well take the money that's on offer now.
Nick Maguire
Roar Rookie
Hey Joe, is the 1 year offer from Titans still $1.25M? I can't see them offering that number when they may only be "renting" the player for 1 year with no guaranteee after that. My guess would be a substantial discount for the length of contract so let's say the difference is only $200 - $300K pre tax for one year then he comes onto the market again, is it still worth moving?
Eden
Roar Rookie
He should take the money, but history says that a young player on those unproven dollars is likely to tank.
Larry1950
Guest
I'm a bronco fan & reckon the Gold Coast has been a Bermuda Triangle for an untold number of promising players over the years but hard to see Fifita forfeiting that extra cash unless there's a big contract guaranteed from 2022 onwards at the Broncs. Of course, nothing can be ticked off or the manager he's trying to dump gets a slice so it would all be on trust, maybe not in this new strange world. If he goes, I'd be all for the Broncos going hard for Kurt Capewell to exit his Penrith deal for 2021 & join my mob as the mobile backrower we need, think the new rule changes made us top heavy with big guys lacking footwork. Reckon the broncos have one too many big hard-running forwards in their rotation with the Fifita/Carrigan types giving better value now than Flegler. With Boyd gone, Milford possibly moved on & using at Bird at 5/8 in 2021 the acquisition of Capewell would be a good fit. That Arrow/Graham sized backrower is worth a lot more now, as is a quick dummy half, particularly one with a kicking game and I reckon they've got that covered. Can't afford to let any of the younger backs go after they've pumped games into them this season so I'd stick with TPJ as a prop, possibly losing Flegler at worst, and if they lose Fifita they find like for like.
Don
Roar Rookie
A Hoffy or a Tom Wallace Special is the way to go. Made in Brisbane. I’ve a couple of vintage ones in the shed to be restored.
ThighSlappinBalls
Roar Rookie
Crazy not to go lifestyle would be better than Brisbane and with a lotto win thrown in also Broncs are a bit of a rabble at the moment
Rellum
Roar Guru
I agree completely. But if someone is going to offer you $1.2mil in the current sports world I would suggest he take it.
kk
Roar Pro
Without JT they are rudderless.
Brendon
Roar Rookie
You're comment says to me athletes earn WAY TO MUCH money. What have they contributed to the world in the past 6 months? Nothing at all. Literally, no sport, no entertainment (the NBA HORSE competition confirms that), no saving lives, nothing. To say our athletes are underpaid is very rich. Keep in mind, they are choosing to play a game for a living. $1.2 million a year for playing footy with their mates, thats not what I'd call underpaid. When it comes to risk, sure they can get injured, so can the cabby, the bus driver, the nurse, the doctor, the scientist in the lab, the paramedic, firefighter, police officer, security guard, retail worker... Way to much money. :unhappy:
kk
Roar Pro
I thought full backs don't lie.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
kk, did you hear JT come out and say that the Titans were over capitalising on just 2 players, Tallis replied by saying the cowboys over capitalised on JT and JT 13 and won the comp. Good answer for all the doubters.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
I told a little fib kk, I don't really have a bike but I'm willing to buy him one.
Rob9
Roar Guru
I don’t think that’s necessarily the case either. Boston is a comparable size to Sydney and Melbourne (and it’s not even one of the 10 largest metropolitan markets). The city is 1 of 13 in the States with (at least) a team in each of the big 4 leagues (5 if you count MLS). If we accept that the 5 most followed sports/leagues here are the NRL, AFL, BBL/cricket, Super Rugby and A League; there’s 16 teams competing in these competitions in our 2 largest markets. It’s probably also worth keeping in mind that there are mega regions such as the north east and Great Lakes where there are a number of large cities in reasonably close proximity to one and other with populations (in the case of the 2 aforementioned examples) that are twice the size of Australia. Meanwhile, our 5 cities with populations that exceed 1 million are at least an hours flight away from each other.
Rellum
Roar Guru
I didn't halve the population but I did above in the repose to Dwanye. The NFL and NBA are global, but I think one of the big differences is I said is the Yanks are far bigger consumers of sport per person than we are, at a fan level and definitely a corporate level. They draw crowds vastly superior to what we do apart from maybe the AFL. The Red sox average like 25K per home game over 82 games of the regular season. College football can get 100K to several games. Add in that level of support at TV time and they just spend a lot more per person than we do.
Rob9
Roar Guru
The one reality that your calculations don’t reflect is that the NFL has a captive national audience. The NRL does not. So while our 26 million is roughly 13 times smaller than the US’s 330- the captive NRL audience is really only half of our 26. If the AFL didn’t exist (one can only dream) and the NRL was Australia’s truly national football code, I think we’d be talking about it’s top money earners raking in between $2 to $3 million. Taking the ‘global interest’ that the NFL conjures into account, and I’d say the respective salaries are pretty comparative for their respective markets.
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
Sorry, didn’t explain my thoughts well enough. To me it viewer numbers, equal advertising Dollars, equals Salary. NFL grand final gets nearly 100 million viewers I think. NRL 2 or 3 million? Damage done to the body hasn’t always meant you get payed more.
Nat
Roar Rookie
Exactly the names I was thinking.
Don
Roar Rookie
Yep. Haas is quality. I've loved his consistency this year whilst experienced players around him were bulging. Carrigan will be the constant in your forward pack for a decade. That Josh Jackson, Finnucane type who will evolve and get tougher and tougher.