Aussie teenager wanted $ 1million a season

[Kirmonds pouch]

On 21/02/2021 at 00:09, bobbruce said:

Yeah it cost them £96m to buy him back. 

Wasn’t Ferguson who bought him back was it and I seriously doubt he ever would. This is why Ferguson was a champ and all subsequent United managers chumps.

[Damien]

54 minutes ago, Kirmonds pouch said:

Wasn’t Ferguson who bought him back was it and I seriously doubt he ever would. This is why Ferguson was a champ and all subsequent United managers chumps.

No, it was Mourinho.

[Sports Prophet]

On 21/02/2021 at 18:23, gingerjon said:

Yup.

And before anyone starts thinking that the NRL is a big league on a global scale - the kid is asking for around the average monthly salary in the Premier League.

Yet massive for any other sport outside America, so yes, it is a big deal.

[Sports Prophet]

3 hours ago, Kirmonds pouch said:

. This is why Ferguson was a champ and all subsequent United managers chumps.

My favourite ever player is anything but a chump.

[arcticchris]

Harry Smith is a major prospect and I hope this year as a Wigan fan that we go with Hastings and Smith starting halves with French at 1, Powell/Tommy L rotating at 9 and Field at 14 offering pace off the bench.

[BrisbaneRhino]

On trying to bend the rules to allow him to debut at 17, I disagree entirely.  While a set age is arbitrary, its far better than using entirely subjective criteria such as people thinking someone is 'ready'. 

There will always be people on the wrong side of a set age where maturity is defined who could make a strong case that they personally are different. We don't accept that in the case of the age of consent or drinking because society prefers to be better safe than sorry. 

Would you let a big 16 year old play NRL if everyone around him said 'he's ready'? How about 15? 14?  You can see where this ends as soon as you start to try to make exceptions. 

Personally I'd rather be safe than sorry in dealing with a kid in a physical contact sport where there is some risk of serious injury.  Another question would be how anyone would try to defend a lawsuit from a 17-year old if they have a career-ending injury before they reach 18, or in 20 years time and they're suffering from serious brain disease.

I also think 18 should be the minimum age in SL as well, for what its worth.

[Damien]

The hype around Joseph Suaalii is about to go to another level after broadcasters committed to airing his much-anticipated trial match on Saturday.

Kayo – which is already broadcasting the other eight NRL trials on Saturday and Sunday – has opted to also show the North Sydney Bears v Canberra Raiders reserve grade clash live in order to cash in on the Suaalii hype, while the event will also be streamed on nrl.com, whose feed will be syndicated on the NSWRL website.

NRL 2021: Joseph Suaalii hype set to grow after broadcasters agree to stream reserve grade trial debut (smh.com.au)

[Sir Kevin Sinfield]

2 hours ago, BrisbaneRhino said:

On trying to bend the rules to allow him to debut at 17, I disagree entirely.  While a set age is arbitrary, its far better than using entirely subjective criteria such as people thinking someone is 'ready'. 

There will always be people on the wrong side of a set age where maturity is defined who could make a strong case that they personally are different. We don't accept that in the case of the age of consent or drinking because society prefers to be better safe than sorry. 

Would you let a big 16 year old play NRL if everyone around him said 'he's ready'? How about 15? 14?  You can see where this ends as soon as you start to try to make exceptions. 

Personally I'd rather be safe than sorry in dealing with a kid in a physical contact sport where there is some risk of serious injury.  Another question would be how anyone would try to defend a lawsuit from a 17-year old if they have a career-ending injury before they reach 18, or in 20 years time and they're suffering from serious brain disease.

I also think 18 should be the minimum age in SL as well, for what its worth.

Having given it some thought I agree with this. It’s bizarre he could in theory play in Super League and Internationals but not the NRL, but I think it’s the NRL that have it right, the minimum age should be 18 across the board.

[Davo5]

21 hours ago, arcticchris said:

Harry Smith is a major prospect and I hope this year as a Wigan fan that we go with Hastings and Smith starting halves with French at 1, Powell/Tommy L rotating at 9 and Field at 14 offering pace off the bench.

We’ve got to get Hastings back from Sydney!s beaches first.

[arcticchris]

12 hours ago, Davo5 said:

We’ve got to get Hastings back from Sydney!s beaches first.

Can’t blame him wanting to stay in Australia for as long as possible where life is close to normal and Covid is not all around.

[Davo5]

39 minutes ago, arcticchris said:

Can’t blame him wanting to stay in Australia for as long as possible where life is close to normal and Covid is not all around.

Lazing about on Sydney’s beaches is hardly going to get him fit & ready for the upcoming season though.

[Dunbar]

7 minutes ago, Saint 1 said:

Besides, do you believe Suaalii would see out his full contract? I don't.

I don't know. And I don't know if he will fulfill his potential. 

But what I do know is that if he does both of these things then the club that has made the investment will have one of the best players in the world. Sometimes you have to just trust the people who say this kid will be something special... it's not me as I haven't seen him play.

[Damien]

2 tries on his NSW Cup debut. Highlights here:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=928877514586394

[Dunbar]

55 minutes ago, Damien said:

2 tries on his NSW Cup debut. Highlights here:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=928877514586394

For a $1m I hope he learns how to pass to his unmarked winger.

[Damien]

8 minutes ago, Dunbar said:

For a $1m I hope he learns how to pass to his unmarked winger.

I know. I know its early days but he just looks like the stereotypical big lad with good feet. I know most in the NSW Cup would be older but he didn't actually look that big compared to many of the players playing. His footwork did remind me of Tuivasa-Sheck a little though. A cracking tackle by the Canberra lad who cut him in half too.

[The Rocket]

We always hear about how short a Rugby League players career is and how they have to maximise their earnings because they don`t know how long it will last.

Something that interests me and that I would like to know more about is what financial strategies are available for a player to perhaps spread his income out over a longer period and even legitimately reduce his tax which must be crippling when you earn say anywhere over $300 000 and the top marginal tax rate is 45 cents out of every dollar over $180 000. That`s effectively half of any income over $ 180 000, you earn $500 000 that`s $144 000 in tax not even counting the tax paid below $180 000 which could be another $50 000. $200 000 tax on $500 000 income.

I`m just surprised we never hear of the use of Trusts, where a player could put x amount of their income into the trust, perhaps distribute part of that to a family member say a wife, who then I believe only pays tax at the appropriate tax rate to the amount distributed or even leaves it there and draws it as income in years where they don`t earn as much. 

Another facility we have over here is for agricultural enterprises to level out the boom and bust nature of agriculture. They are called Farm Deposits. An enterprise that has a boom year and earns say $1m , can nominate, I believe they are done in $100 000 deposits to create say 8 of these farm deposits , leave themselves $200 000 income, and draw on the other deposits in lean years and declare them as income and then pay  income tax accordingly. Theoretically a League player who did this could extend a lucrative 8-10 year earning period to 20.

Is there anything like this for sports people, could something be developed, should this be something that sporting bodies could look at for their members.

[DoubleD]

1 hour ago, Dunbar said:

For a $1m I hope he learns how to pass to his unmarked winger.

In fairness, Mitchell didn't have much of a pass when he first came on the scene

[bobbruce]

2 hours ago, The Rocket said:

We always hear about how short a Rugby League players career is and how they have to maximise their earnings because they don`t know how long it will last.

Something that interests me and that I would like to know more about is what financial strategies are available for a player to perhaps spread his income out over a longer period and even legitimately reduce his tax which must be crippling when you earn say anywhere over $300 000 and the top marginal tax rate is 45 cents out of every dollar over $180 000. That`s effectively half of any income over $ 180 000, you earn $500 000 that`s $144 000 in tax not even counting the tax paid below $180 000 which could be another $50 000. $200 000 tax on $500 000 income.

I`m just surprised we never hear of the use of Trusts, where a player could put x amount of their income into the trust, perhaps distribute part of that to a family member say a wife, who then I believe only pays tax at the appropriate tax rate to the amount distributed or even leaves it there and draws it as income in years where they don`t earn as much. 

Another facility we have over here is for agricultural enterprises to level out the boom and bust nature of agriculture. They are called Farm Deposits. An enterprise that has a boom year and earns say $1m , can nominate, I believe they are done in $100 000 deposits to create say 8 of these farm deposits , leave themselves $200 000 income, and draw on the other deposits in lean years and declare them as income and then pay  income tax accordingly. Theoretically a League player who did this could extend a lucrative 8-10 year earning period to 20.

Is there anything like this for sports people, could something be developed, should this be something that sporting bodies could look at for their members.

I’d imagine most players will class themselves as a limited company or whatever the Aussie equivalent is. Would massively reduce their tax bill. 

[unapologetic pedant]

3 hours ago, Dunbar said:

For a $1m I hope he learns how to pass to his unmarked winger.

 

3 hours ago, Damien said:

I know. I know its early days but he just looks like the stereotypical big lad with good feet. I know most in the NSW Cup would be older but he didn't actually look that big compared to many of the players playing. His footwork did remind me of Tuivasa-Sheck a little though. A cracking tackle by the Canberra lad who cut him in half too.

I watched the first half on livestream. At the point the commentator says "always feels like something`s going to happen when he gets his hands on the ball", nothing had happened in the game to prompt any such thought.

Doesn`t mean he won`t be highly successful, but does underline the influence of hype and previous highlights reels.

[unapologetic pedant]

On 27/02/2021 at 13:04, The Rocket said:

Something that interests me and that I would like to know more about is what financial strategies are available for a player to perhaps spread his income out over a longer period and even legitimately reduce his tax which must be crippling when you earn say anywhere over $300 000 and the top marginal tax rate is 45 cents out of every dollar over $180 000. That`s effectively half of any income over $ 180 000, you earn $500 000 that`s $144 000 in tax not even counting the tax paid below $180 000 which could be another $50 000. $200 000 tax on $500 000 income.

Not sure where you would place yourself on the political spectrum. There is a tendency of some on the left to view the tax affairs of players in their favourite sport differently from other high earners.

And there are many working-class people who espouse egalitarianism when they`re poor, then quickly discover the iniquities of marginal rates when they strike it rich.

[The Rocket]

On 01/03/2021 at 15:34, unapologetic pedant said:

Not sure where you would place yourself on the political spectrum. There is a tendency of some on the left to view the tax affairs of players in their favourite sport differently from other high earners.

And there are many working-class people who espouse egalitarianism when they`re poor, then quickly discover the iniquities of marginal rates when they strike it rich.

I suppose the point of my initial post was to see if any one was aware of any measures that players take to reduce their tax bill. We hear a lot over here of high earners funneling their income into trusts to avoid tax and I gave a brief outline of the advantages that farmers have.

Bobbruce mentioned incorporating yourself so that you are effectively a company and I assume attract only company tax rates on income, which is a flat rate and considerably less than personal tax rates. I am not sure how that works once the income from the company is distributed to the company owner, the player, doesn`t that then attract income tax or perhaps there are tax credits available for tax already paid. 

Any way I might have to do a bit of google searching.

[bobbruce]

10 hours ago, The Rocket said:

I suppose the point of my initial post was to see if any one was aware of any measures that players take to reduce their tax bill. We hear a lot over here of high earners funneling their income into trusts to avoid tax and I gave a brief outline of the advantages that farmers have.

Bobbruce mentioned incorporating yourself so that you are effectively a company and I assume attract only company tax rates on income, which is a flat rate and considerably less than personal tax rates. I am not sure how that works once the income from the company is distributed to the company owner, the player, doesn`t that then attract income tax or perhaps there are tax credits available for tax already paid. 

Any way I might have to do a bit of google searching.

Over hear I think you pay 7.5p in the pound tax up to a point not sure how much then it goes up but at the end if you are a director of the company you could give yourself a 40 odd k dividend that wouldn’t be taxed apart from the corporation tax already paid. If your wife or anyone else was also a director they could also get up to the same dividend before you would need to pay any additional personal tax.