Sydney Morning Herald writer Adrian Proszenko is reporting that the Salford Reds have made a huge offer for Sonny Bill Williams.
The deal is said to be worth over $1 million per season, a figure that would simply be unworkable under the current Super League salary cap.
While it seems extremely far fetched, I think for the right price ANY team could get Sonny Bill Williams on their books. I think Williams could earn $1 million per season pretty much anywhere he chose to play, so to move to Super League I think he would need close to $2 million per season to even think about it.
Williams next career move is being kept under wraps. It was thought that the Sydney Roosters has locked him up for the 2014 season but a move back to Rugby Union looks more and more likely every single day.
People can talk about where players will and will not play. They can talk about career goals and playing against the best opposition all they want. At the end of the day, players will take the best all round offer they can get. If that means playing for the Salford Reds for $2 million per season, that’s what it takes.
There is no way to get around the fact that under the current Super League salary cap rules, this can’t be done. The RFL would have to bring in some type of marquee players system for this to even be a remote possibility….and most Super League clubs simply can’t afford to pay more for players.
I admire Marwan Koukash for aiming for the stars. You can’t question that he is willing to pay to make Salford a success. While Sonny Bill Williams might not be all that realistic at this stage, you have to wonder what other players he might be willing to go after.
The Salford Reds will soon change their name to The Salford Red Devils ahead of the 2014 Super League season.
