NRL Rich 100 2021: NRL’s most overpaid - 11 park football millionaires

When Cronulla’s feeder side Newtown ran out for its Round 15 NSW Cup match against Blacktown recently, they did so with three players each earning well over $500,000 a year.

Some of rugby league’s highest-paid players are languishing in park footy alongside part-time players as the shocking recruitment decisions of NRL clubs are uncovered.

Poor talent identification, panic signings and the pressure to land a big name has paralysed some teams’ playing rosters as their salary caps and premiership hopes collapse under the weight of bad deals.

News Corp has investigated the salaries of the NRL’s biggest earners in its annual Rich 100, with startling revelations that at least one in 10 of the game’s key money men have spent time in reserve grade in 2021.

Top money makers including Anthony Milford ($940,000), Andrew Fifita ($850,000), Josh Dugan ($850,000) and Russell Packer ($750,000) have lined up for their respective feeder clubs this year.

When Cronulla’s feeder side Newtown ran out for its Round 15 NSW Cup match against Blacktown, the Jets did so with more than $2.2 million worth of talent in their line-up as Dugan, Fifita and halfback Chad Townsend ($520,000) featured in the 26-12 win.

They’re not alone.

Top money makers including Andrew Fifita have lined up for their respective feeder clubs this year.

St George Illawarra’s Jake de Belin ($750,000), Wests Tigers centre Joey Leilua ($550,000) and South Sydney winger Josh Mansour ($432,000) are other players collecting big pay days while playing reserve grade.

Broncos players Milford, Brodie Croft ($423,000) and Corey Oates ($517,000) have all had stints with feeder club Souths Logan. The good news for Croft, Oates and Sharks forward Fifita — but bad news for their respective clubs — is that they will continue to be paid big money under their deals next season. For others, however, they headline a list of would-be millionaires who are on offer for a cut-price deal.

Chad Townsend and Josh Dugan playing in Reserve Grade for the Newtown Jets

OPEN MARKET VALUE

A NSW Blues hopeful in the lead-up to Origin I, Blake Ferguson ($470,000) now hasn’t played NRL for Parramatta in over a month. In the final season of a three-year deal, the timing couldn’t be worse for the veteran winger who, at 31, is looking to extend his career beyond 2021.

The game’s top-20 earners including Milford, Corey Norman ($850,000), and Ash Taylor ($964,000) – all nearing the million dollar mark in 2021 earnings – are not commanding anywhere near those prices on the open market.

In fact, they are battling to keep their careers afloat and, if they do land a deal for 2022 and beyond, it would be for as little as a quarter of what they will make this year.

The trio isn’t alone, though.

Cronulla players Dugan and Matt Moylan — both earning $850,000 — are in the final season of a fruitful first contract at the Sharks. At best, the former Kangaroos internationals could hope to earn half that figure next year.

Blake Ferguson ($470,000) now hasn’t played NRL for Parramatta in over a month.

Cronulla’s Shaun Johnson signed with the Warriors for next season, for about $300,000 less than the $800,000 he is on at the moment. While teammate Aaron Woods ($600,000) is on the look out for a new club after being told he is no longer required.

Off-contract Sea Eagle Dylan Walker ($465,000) will also have a large chunk of his Manly wage slashed as he searches for a new deal.

FIGHTING TO KEEP CAREERS ALIVE

The good news for players like Walker and Ferguson is they are expected to find a new home. The same can’t be said for a trio of other players who are fighting to keep their careers afloat, let alone earning something even close to resembling their current pay cheque.

Wests Tigers disaster signing Packer has played just 14 games since 2019 but is still pocketing a cool $750,000 a season. The Tigers also invested heavily in getting Joey Leilua to the club from Canberra with his more than half-a-million-dollar deal coming to an end this year.

The Tigers have opted against taking up Leilua’s option for next season while Packer is clubless.

Dylan Napa’s three-year stint at Canterbury will come to an end. At just 28, the premiership-winning Maroons prop is now at the crossroads in his career.

Once among the most feared defenders in the competition, Napa has battled an ongoing knee injury during his time at the Bulldogs. Scoring another $650,000 contract is no longer a chance.

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (rugby) and Michael Morgan (retirement) will naturally drop out of the list.