Sonny Bill Williams’ Roosters salary revealed
The full extent of Sonny Bill Williams’ contract with the Roosters has been revealed.
Sonny Bill Williams’s contract details at the Sydney Roosters can finally be revealed — the superstar forward will be paid $150,000 to play the last four rounds of the competition and finals.
However a much bigger pay packet will be an option for 2021, but not at the Roosters because of the salary cap space needed to upgrade champions Luke Keary and James Tedesco.
Canterbury Bulldogs are seriously interested in bringing the champion forward back to where it all started in 2004 to help new coach Trent Barrett rebuild the club and culture at Belmore.
The Roosters tried to register SBW on a $120,000 contract with the NRL.
It was rejected but both parties eventually agreed on a value of $150,000. That’s $37,500 a game for the last four matches of the season.
On a pro rata basis, that values Williams as a $900,000-a-season footballer if he’d signed at the beginning of the year to play 24 rounds.
“I’m not doing it for money,” he said on Wednesday. “It wasn’t even part of my thinking. I knew it wasn’t going to be much. It’s more about the challenge.”
For the first time in his career, footy superstar Williams admits he is nervous.
He says he spent two days wondering if he could still manage the demands of one more campaign in the sport in which he started out 16 years ago.
“I am nervous,” he said. “I haven’t been training and I’ve started thinking about my age.
“At nearly 35 I’ve had a couple of injuries and surgery.
“There was 24 to 48 hours and I was just lying in bed and thinking, man, all these factors are stacked against me.”
Williams flies in on Thursday morning, following a recent private luncheon between his manager, Khoder Nasser, and Roosters supremo Nick Politis.
He hasn’t played in the NRL since 2014, and the game has changed significantly since then.
He says he can’t just arrive at the two-time premiers and demand a starting spot. Not when he hasn’t played or trained professionally since February.
“The biggest challenge is trying to make the squad,” he said. “There’s world-class players at the Roosters. I just can’t walk in and take a spot.
“The other boys will have been in the competition for 14 or 15 weeks. It’s a massive challenge.”
There has been much discussion around the game about the NRL bending the rules to allow for SBW’s return.
Never before has a player been allowed to have two contracts.
Williams could not be more grateful for the way it has been handled. “Credit to Peter V’landys for being forward thinking and just getting it done,” he said. “The new people in charge at the NRL are making things happen.
“It’s been a pretty stressful time to pack up quickly and leave.
“The fact there have been no hassles from their end has made it easier.”
Williams is aware of the critics who have said he should be helping out the Warriors. I asked him why he didn’t consider playing for the struggling New Zealand outfit.
“I moved to Australia when I was 14 and my wife is Australian,” he said.
“I’ve got four kids under five. The plan was to always set up shop in Sydney once I’m finished, not in New Zealand.
“Trent (Robinson) was the first to ring me. He had injury problems with a few of the boys.
“And apart from Trent and Nick, I think most people know I’m still close to the boys.
“The Roosters are close to my heart.
“I’ve been in holiday mode and travelling around Europe with my family.
“We’d done France and Turkey. Then we were going to do Bosnia and Greece. Then this opportunity came up.”
The champion forward remains under contract to Toronto Wolfpack, but is unsure about next year.
There is a coaching/mentoring role available at the Roosters.
However there is very strong mail that the Bulldogs want Sonny Bill next year.
There have been high-level talks with Nasser.
He would play and work alongside Barrett to rebuild their culture and set new standards for a club that has struggled with off-field issues.
Bulldogs CEO Andrew Hill refuses to rule it out.
“We’d be definitely keen to look at it,” Hill said. “Who wouldn’t want Sonny Bill?
“But would he ever play against the Roosters? Who knows?”
For SBW it would be a fitting end to his career to go back to where it all started.
The Daily Telegraph
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