The average Super League salary revealed by Warrington Wolves chief executive as he explains record-breaking deals and his rise to prominence

IT’S been a meteoric rise for Karl Fitzpatrick to say the least.

Hanging up his boots as a professional rugby league player back in 2010 after registering over 100 appearances for Salford, Fitzpatrick has chartered through a number of roles at the Warrington Wolves.

From player welfare manager to current chief executive, the former Irish international has been a major success story.

Now he has spoken about his journey as well as the struggles that current rugby league and Super League players face when transitioning to life after the sport especially when considering the average wage does not touch the sides in football.

“Initially, I was offered the role of player welfare manager which is someone who looks after the players away from the game, players from Australia coming to the UK,” Fitzpatrick told the The Growth Hub Podcast.

“I would help them settle in and address any mental health concerns as well as prepare the players for life after they’ve finished professional sport.

“It is really challenging, we don’t earn the levels of salaries that footballers earn but nevertheless, it’s a good salary.

“The average salary of a Super League player is £74,000 per year which is a great salary but it can’t sustain a lifestyle once you’ve finished playing.

“Couple that with the fact that adulation soon goes after retiring, you’re soon forgotten about, but the RFL have been pioneers in this space in preparing players for life after playing rugby league.”

In terms of Fitzpatrick’s own journey after rugby, it has been inspirational one.

“Player welfare manager was my first paid role, I think my first salary was £15,000 – a bit more than my first playing contract at £7,000! But once I got my foot in the door I knew what I could bring to the organisation.

“I became team manager, then head of rugby operations which is not dissimilar to a head of rugby role. I looked after the budget and salary cap and then I went back to university to study an MBA.

“But, once I was on this path at Warrington I had aims to be a chief executive and then, in 2017, the board appointed me as chief executive.”

The 42-year-old outlined just how vital building relationships is when it comes to securing sponsorship deals in his current position.

“The philosophical position of our commercial team is ’49/51′. When you go into business, people say ‘go 50/50’, but you’ve got to give them that bit extra, so we get 49 and the partner gets 51. From that we’ve had tremendous success with commercial partnerships.

“We’ve just extended our front of shirt partnership with Hoover which is the biggest in the club’s history as well as a naming rights deal for the stadium.

“It’s about getting to know the key players behind them and establishing relationships on a personal level.”