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Hands up all those who want to be in Tom Scully’s shoes right now? Any takers? If you’re keen, go for it and good luck. Just remember though, you’ve got one hell of a difficult decision to make in the coming months.
In just his second season with Melbourne, Scully is currently earning the AFL’s base wage of $77,700 per year, plus $4200 a game. According to the Herald Sun, if he is paid for the nine games he missed earlier in the season due to a knee injury, he will earn approximately $165,000 in 2011.
On Tuesday, Velocity Sports – Scully’s management group – confirmed to the Herald Sun the young Demon had officially been offered a contract from Greater Western Sydney. The offer is reportedly worth $5 million over five years – that’s a lazy one million bucks per season for all those playing at home.
That’s a pay rise of $835,000. Not bad.
Melbourne recently offered Scully a new contract too, but it’s ‘only’ worth $3 million over five years. Only.
This exciting midfielder now has a tough choice. Does he sacrifice $2 million and remain loyal to the club that faithfully selected him with the first pick of the 2009 NAB draft? Or does he venture into the biggest unknown perhaps in AFL history and chase the green stuff?
It’s somewhat of a luxurious conundrum. But one he’d probably rather not have.
Scully confirmed he won’t be making a decision until the end of the season. Therefore his future will continue to be hotly debated throughout the media, schoolyards and pubs for the remainder of 2011.
So what’s he going to do? What would you do if you were in his shoes?
Looking at Scully’s situation from a pure financial perspective, he’d be silly not to sign with GWS.
It’s estimated Gold Coast’s Gary Ablett and Carlton’s Chris Judd are currently the highest paid players in the competition. Both are believed to earn in excess of $1 million per season.
Third in line is Brisbane skipper Jonathan Brown, who is believed to earn exactly $1 million per season. Next come two more skippers in St Kilda’s Nick Riewoldt and Fremantle’s Matthew Pavlich, who earn close to $900,000.
Amazingly, if Scully went to GWS, he’d be mentioned in the same breath as those five stars. Not in terms of talent, but in wage.
He’d earn the same amount of money as Brown – a 29-year-old stalwart who’s won three premierships and kicked 498 goals from 209 games. Even more perplexing, he’d bank more dough than both Riewoldt and Pavlich, who between them have played 461 games, kicked 946 goals, won 10 Best and Fairest awards and earned 10 All-Australian selections.
Remember we’re talking about a 20-year-old kid, who, if he went to the Giants, would’ve played less than 40 games, earning $1 million.
At the moment, Scully is nowhere near the calibre of Ablett, Judd, Brown, Riewoldt and Pavlich. It’d take him at least four or five years to reach such a high standard.
Scully is still all potential. It’s all about what he could do, not what he’s done so far. He’s shown glimpses, but that’s all they’ve been – glimpses.
So to earn $1 million a year in just your third AFL season is unfathomable. It’s batting above your average. It’s Geelong skipper Cameron Ling dating Megan Fox.
Really, you’d be stupid not to take the money and run.
But while money does talk loudly, it isn’t everything.
If Scully left for New South Wales, he would carry an unbearable amount of pressure and expectation on his shoulders. At just 20, he’d be the marquee player of the club – a club that would be lucky to win one or two games in its first season.
Would he be able to handle such a title? Perhaps. But even the most experienced campaigners would struggle to cope with such hype.
But if Scully were to stay in Victoria, he could relax. He wouldn’t have to deal with such stress. He could rely on more experienced teammates to guide him through these next couple of seasons, before he’s big enough to take care of himself.
The midfielder would also be a strong chance to captain the Melbourne Football Club, one of the proudest and most prestigious sporting organisations in this nation. Everyone speaks so highly of Scully, in terms of his maturity and professionalism, so there’s no doubt he’d do supporters proud.
If he went to GWS, he wouldn’t be able to play on the MCG every second round. He wouldn’t experience the passion and emotion of supporters who’ve been supporting the footy club for decades. Most importantly, he wouldn’t be close to his family and friends.
Glad it’s his decision, not mine.
So now Melbourne waits. GWS waits. Scully waits.
We wait.
But when the time arrives for him to make a decision, it comes down to riches or loyalty.
If Scully chooses to accept the GWS mission, yes his pockets will be heavy but he’ll need 24 hour access to a psychologist from day one. If he declines the mission, yes his pockets will be lighter but he’ll have a magnificent opportunity to create a lasting legacy at the Demons.
All we can do now, though, is speculate.
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