Saracens have just signed and annouced john Smit from south africa there taking there time on joel and also if he is going to be on big money there going have probelm putting him under salary cap

lets get sensible,the lad is off to RU can anyone blame him.the money he will be on will set him up for life.hope he thanks wigan for giving him his first chance.

I think you want get sensible if you think him earning 150k - 200k for 3 years will set him up for life. The 400k is b*llocks. If he dont make it he will be back in RL on less money than he is now and probably never regain any form. Its not football wages they pay in RU

How do you work that one out then?

Just what have the "people who head this sport" done or not done that has "let it get to this situation"?

He could play union till well into his 30's and the salary is only the start of it . Because of the profile of International Union if he makes it (and I say IF) he will make a fortune from sponsorship, advertising etc etc. If he does well he could easily make enough to set himself up for life . In League that is unlikely

Quote ="No1 Saint"He could play union till well into his 30's and the salary is only the start of it . Because of the profile of International Union if he makes it (and I say IF) he will make a fortune from sponsorship, advertising etc etc. If he does well he could easily make enough to set himself up for life . In League that is unlikely'" If he becomes a international i know he will earn alot more than he will in league but its all ifs and buts joel noes the risks www.code13rugbyleague.com/2011/0 ... gby-union/

Quote ="No1 Saint"He could play union till well into his 30's and the salary is only the start of it . Because of the profile of International Union if he makes it (and I say IF) he will make a fortune from sponsorship, advertising etc etc. If he does well he could easily make enough to set himself up for life . In League that is unlikely'" If he becomes a international i know he will earn alot more than he will in league but its all ifs and buts joel noes the risks www.code13rugbyleague.com/2011/0 ... gby-union/

Quote ="RLFC2008"If he becomes a international i know he will earn alot more than he will in league but its all ifs and buts joel noes the risks www.code13rugbyleague.com/2011/0 ... gby-union/'" I'm sure he does and I'm sure he's been advised that worst case he can come back to league as young man and make decent money. If Wigan dont want him or cant fit him under the cap I'm sure he would get a gig at another top SL side ... I mean Warrington have an unlimited cap

Quote ="RLFC2008"If he becomes a international i know he will earn alot more than he will in league but its all ifs and buts joel noes the risks www.code13rugbyleague.com/2011/0 ... gby-union/'" I'm sure he does and I'm sure he's been advised that worst case he can come back to league as young man and make decent money. If Wigan dont want him or cant fit him under the cap I'm sure he would get a gig at another top SL side ... I mean Warrington have an unlimited cap

I never thought about Warrington

*Joel offered £350k by Saracens
*Joels speaks to family and friends
*Joels think Sam will follow him in 12 months
*Sam not really keen on going to Union, would prefer to go to the NRL - life long dream
*Family not really keen on leaving Wigan but understand it is life changing amount of money and will support Joel.
*Joel weighing it all up, is it really worth the money?

What happened to the part of Super League Supermen when Sam says he doesnt want to go to Australia but wouldnt mind playing RU in the future?

If he did go, and came back in one or two years, we would still hold his rugby league registration. If he was to go to another SL club, we will be entitled to another compensation pay out.

That would depend on the terms of a transfer I imagine. I doubt its that straight forward

Bit like the Iestyn Harris thing with Bradfert and Leeds when he came back from union.

Just want to get it finalised now, dont want this dragging on until pre-season.

If it's being dragged out because Wigan are fighting it every inch of the way, I'd be happy for it to drag on until Doomsday.

I am totally fed up with seeing our best talent going without anyone at least trying to resist.

Even if it meant the club trying to get him a gig in the NRL, it would be worth just to keep him in the sport and to see him fulfill his potential and become a top quality rugby player rather than an arrogant, overpaid, overweight, beer-swilling cardboard tank.

No need to bring Garry Schofield into this...

It may be stating the obvious, but speculation just breeds bad feeling.
I would not blame Joel for going to RU for the money, I would hate to see him go, but good luck to the lad.
He has given a lot to our club in his career so far and I have nothing but admiration for the commitment and desire he has shown in developing into the fine player that he is.
I would love him to announce that his heart is here in Wigan and RU can beggar off but at that age, would I? would you? if I am honest, the answer is no. I would want to make as much money as quickly as possible before my career ended.

Either way, Joel is one of us, will always be, one of us. So stop giving the lad a hard time and show that as supporters, we are here to support our players in the tough decisions and respect their choices whatever they may be.

The business end of things can be sorted behind closed doors and neither Joel or us need to worry about the compensation or contract buy out if it should happen. I am sure that Mr. Ian Lenegan will get the best deal available if required to do so, but I just want to see Joel treated well, by the club, by the press but most of all, by us.

CD

It is stating the obvious to say that anyone would want to go where there's more money. But I personally would be a lot more impressed if Joel went to the NRL - where there is plenty more money than here (so that's that base covered) and where there is also plenty more of a challenge, 1000% more than there is in RU.

At present he's not just going for the big money, it looks like he's going for the easy money, which is less endearing to a top performer in a red-blooded combat sport like ours.

There is also a bigger picture issue.

If Joel goes, he will only be one of several high profile RL players who at the very first sign of a bigger payday have suddenly wanted to tear up their existing contracts and leave the sport. It isn't an exodus, but it doesn't need to be in order to weaken us significantly. If the rumours I hear are true, and Union, once they've got Joel, then target Sam, and after that Ben Jones-Bishop, and then who next maybe? - George Williams, Ryan Hampshire (who'll just be about the right age), we'll be losing irreplacable talent on a regular basis - and will be seen increasingly as RU's feeder sport. Spin in however you wish, but I can't thank these players for that.

I don't wish to see them insulted in the street, barred from their former clubs, etc, but while you can truthfully say that these guys have a right to choose their own future, find financial security etc, it can also truthfully be said that - collectively - they are letting an awful lot of people down because they are badly damaging British RL.

Let's not admit one truth and then hide from the other.

menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... -cash-call

menmedia.co.uk/manchesterevening ... -cash-call

Can Lenegan really not put it up to high transfer fee and hope that whether Saracens buy him or not it will increase the value of Rugby League players? Or does it not work like that because RFL and RFU are seperate bodies? If we say £3million for Joel instead of £250,000 would it not put off Union clubs in future? We need to be ambitious I think. Something needs to be done about players sponsoring products too, it shouldn't be on the cap, so what if the lesser players and clubs don't get sponsorship which is as lucrative, it would make both the players and clubs to aim higher in league instead off having to bugger off to Union.

Like you, I would love to think that the impending departure of Joel (who I would be asking £400,000 for regardless of whether it's fair or not - no way would Saracens get him on the cheap regardless of Andy Clarke's glib promises), would sharpen the thinking at the RFL regarding cap discounts on home-grown talent, on self-negoatiated sponsorship deals and on the reinstatement of a central fund designed to top up the wages of our marquee players, but this didn't happen with Eastmond.

It may do next year when Sam is ready to go as well, but what a pity it wil have taken the sacrifice of so much talent in order to make stupid Yaaarkshire thickheads wake up and smell the coffee.

£400k seems fair to me. Wigan have spent years developing Joel's 'talent' and should be properly reimbursed.
I don't blame him for going. It's not as though he will only be getting a wage increase of £20,000 but it will be in the hundreds of thousands.
However, I do hope that he fails and then RU clubs will have second thoughts about raiding rugby league.
We need to put England on the international map to give our game a much needed boost. If we lose our best players then we may as well not try to compete in the 4 nations. Watching the under 20s I have seen a plethora of talent coming through at quite a few clubs but it would be heartbreaking to lose them to RU. It isn't even good to watch.

He will get paid £140,000 to £200,000 at saracens if you believe that hes going to get £400k a year then you must be daft saracens signed South African captain for less than £200,000 a year there not a rugby union fan in the country believes he will get more than £170k off sarries only way he will get a couple hundred grand more than his 80k at wigan is if he plays for england. Rugby Union people laugh at some of the things we write about how much joel will be paid and all this seting him up for life crap.

Rumour is that the £400k is over 3 years, rather than £400k a year. With the added financial incentives of Yawnion.

Sorry to say it, but I told you so... there will be no massive payout for Joel.

IL will do well to get £250k.