They're the headline grabbing players that clubs throw the proverbial kitchen sink at.
They cost a lot. $1m per season. 10 percent of the salary cap.
Are they worth it?
So far this season Kalyn Ponga has re-signed on a long-term, multi million dollar deal with Newcastle. There are now rumours David Fifita is hunting a similar pay day outside the Broncos.
The million dollar player is often touted as the solution to a club's player woes. A million dollars and that player should win you the Premiership.
But, as history has shown, that million dollar player rarely plays in a team that wins the competition.
It's often due to a couple of key factors, mostly tied to that player's pay packet.
Looking at Ben Hunt, who moved from Brisbane to the Dragons for $1.2 million per season. St George have gone backwards since his arrival. They haven't had a bad team, but they also haven't had the most balanced side.
Their forward pack has been imposing for years, but their backline leaves a lot to be desired.
They're without an automatic pick at fullback having had Matt Dufty, Corey Norman and Gareth Widdop all play there in the past 12 months. Their centres aren't exactly strike players while their wingers are rocks and diamonds a lot of the time, especially since Jason Nightingale's retirement.
This has a flow on effect. Young guns Tristan Sailor and Jason Saab, explosive and talented outside backs, are looking elsewhere. Possibly due to the form the club is in, but no doubt finances play into that calculation.
Tyson Frizell, a loyal Dragons servant is also leaving, while Jack De Belin is unlikely to ever play again.
The further down the Dragons roster you go, the thinner the talent. And I'm talking only outside the starting 13.
Newcastle could end up in a similar situation given the amount of money they've thrown at Ponga. Outside Ponga in the backline, the only other genuine star is Mitchell Pearce and he's in his 30s.
Their forward pack is young and hungry. But the Saifiti brothers and Herman Ese'ese will be popular when they hit the market. It'll be hard to retain them all alongside David Klemmer while adding Frizell.
The Cowboys are dealing with this situation now as they locked in JT13 for a decade. He's worth every cent but without the other JT, the side is a shadow of its former self.
Their poor recruitment is showing in the ineffectiveness of their back row and outside backs. Paul Green is left putting together a patchwork backline with Ben Hampton playing on the wing and a rotating cast at fullback on occasion. No doubt Valentine Holmes and Michael Morgan are also on decent pay.
Long-term multi million dollar deals just don't seem to cut it.
The Roosters showed how to handle that. They signed Cooper Cronk on a two year, million dollar per season deal. They recruited him to win the comp. They did that, he retired, salary cap squeeze over. We can get into the debate of how in the hell they actually afforded him, but on the surface it was a smart business move.
Cronk's retirement and the smart moving on of players like Blake Ferguson meant they had the funds to upgrade James Tedesco, while also having the clout to shut the door on Latrell Mitchell asking for a million dollars.
That's how million dollar contracts should work. Short term, lower risk. Clever structuring of the contracts of longer term players also helps.
At Manly they're going to have similar issues moving forward as Tom and Jake Trbojevic continue being worth more while Daly Cherry-Evans has a large pay packet locked in. If anything shows the squads issues it's their record without Tom Trbojevic.
The club has struggled to find a halves partner for DCE, they've rolled through a range of hookers while their depth outside the starting 13 is questionable. Manly's saving grace here is the coaching of Des Hasler who seems to be able to find enough players willing to stretch themselves to remain competitive.
Similar to the Roosters, Melbourne have a cycle of paying top dollar for the right players, utilising journeymen where they need to and releasing those that demand too much.
Parramatta are on that path. Without a million dollar player they have the ability to go considerably deep with first grade experience. The top 21 that Brad Arthur names every week all have considerable levels of NRL experience. The fact David Gower hasn't been in the 21 until this week indicates that depth.
In many respects, million dollar players are a creation of agents, not player talent. The salary cap sits around $10 million. A single million dollar player soaks up 10 percent of the cap. If you throw in 2-3 decent players alongside him then you're looking at 20-30 percent of the cap chewed up in only a small handful of players.
It's fine when they're fit and firing. But the moment a million dollar player goes down, they're being replaced by someone probably on $100K-$200K. The drop off on in quality is immense and it's hard to overcome.
Replies
Problem is there is only very few elites that are worth $1m plus pay packet , the rest just affect depth and quality of squad.
Roosters great example as you said they paid for Cronk and Teddy also on the big bucks , but Keary is not $1m . Melbourne only had the big three , cowboys had Thurston and taulomaolo . These are the very best in the game and with exception of taulomolo and teddy were proven as consistent match winners and at top of the game at the time of signing contracts .
roosters were smart , Latrell wanted big bucks but they knew he was not worth getting in bidding war, yes he can win games , even big ones but he is not consistent week in week out.
everyone else on $1m plus is signed on potential or desperation . Titans offering huge amounts for Fifita are doing just that , one season and already offering him stupid money
I wouldn't blame player managers on the stupid money , and I don't think it's a reflection of quality of depth in the game . I blame the coaches . Most coaches are to reliant on Bellamy style with block play attacks and have not created or undertaken there own style and can't coach a player (no coincidence the huge gap between top teams with the new rules ) , these coaches lack the ability to coach that they offer stupid money to players to boost team performances and throw stupid money at players who have played a handful of games in top grade .
For example siebold is being found out , Mary shown with roster he has had for 7 years is useless , green can't change his style and after top line players to get results
As I have previously stated, the issue around these kinds of signings is the ridiculous amount of leverage that players & their managers have in the NRL.
I have long believed that the NRL should institute Restricted Free Agency for players until they have completed a certain number of years in the league, for example 3 years on a rookie scale contract & then a minimum of 4 years on their first veterans contract BEFORE they can access Unrestricted Free Agency. By that time the player is about 25-27, has probably played around 100 NRL games and the market is fairly well established for the player. In addition it gives his rookie club 7 years to get the player established in the culture of the club where he is much less likely to be wanting to move clubs anyway.
On top of that, clubs should be able to exceed the cap to retain their Free Agents. The Broncos should be able to match any offer that Fifita gets from any other club and they should be able to exceed the cap to do so. However, in doing so they couldn't then recruit players from other clubs.
Spot on Kenny . Very few $1m players with healthy bodies. Roosters did the smartest move with Cronk . You got to know when to hold them know when to fold them as they say ..
Watching with interest the constant wear and tear north qld have on the 10 year man Jason T . I seriously can't see him getting to his 10th year. Swans having similar issues with buddy franklin . Mind willing body not .
This all boils down to players being signed on long-term million dollar deals. If a player signs for a million dollars a season, clubs shouldn't be signing them long term as the risk of a drop in form and losing younger players is far too great.
I thought we should have played for Cronk. We don't have players like Freddy or Lockeyer or Jonsy. They bring character. At the moment Gutho is not a captain material. Looking at Cordner, he gives 200%. We don't have anyone like them or Smith. We lack the factor.. we are still immature on the field, loose composure too easily.
I don't think the game tomorrow will be all smile.
I thought we should have played for Cronk. We don't have players like Freddy or Lockeyer or Jonsy. They bring character. At the moment Gutho is not a captain material. Looking at Cordner, he gives 200%. We don't have anyone like them or Smith. We lack the factor.. we are still immature on the field, loose composure too easily.
I don't think the game tomorrow will be all smile.