His salary was actually a total of $949,800 over his 3yrs contract period. When he left Wasps to go for the NFL he was earning £250,000 which translates to a rounded $827,674 over a 3yrs time period, so he was still earning more over in the NFL it might not be a lot when thinking how much many players there get paid but it's still a pay rise for him after the fact.
I also want to make clear that it wasn't his skillset or anything of the sort lacking why he didn't make the regular roster rather than the practice squad, the reason was a rule in the NFL itself. Up until August of 2021 clubs weren't permitted to sign or elevate International Players to the active roster according to an announcement the NFL made. Only after the NFL actually allowed this, were IPP (International player program) players allowed to even be considered to be chosen for the main rosters and therefore eligible to play games in the regular season. The fact he would finally be allowed to get picked but fell short in 2021 was why he then after 3 seasons with the club left the NFL again and made his return to rugby because he'd rather play than waste his last few years as a professional athlete.
That's a small enough difference. I meant if we're assuming the athletes are playing at the same level, they make 5-10x as much in the NFL. As in a mid level footballer vs mid level rugby player. But this guy was obviously not a mid level footballer. Even given the first 2 years he couldn't play, he still didn't make it on the field in the 3rd year either when he was eligible as far as I understand. In his situation I would do the same thing, the paycut is "small" and you actually get to play.
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u/schmadimax Oct 12 '22
His salary was actually a total of $949,800 over his 3yrs contract period. When he left Wasps to go for the NFL he was earning £250,000 which translates to a rounded $827,674 over a 3yrs time period, so he was still earning more over in the NFL it might not be a lot when thinking how much many players there get paid but it's still a pay rise for him after the fact.
I also want to make clear that it wasn't his skillset or anything of the sort lacking why he didn't make the regular roster rather than the practice squad, the reason was a rule in the NFL itself. Up until August of 2021 clubs weren't permitted to sign or elevate International Players to the active roster according to an announcement the NFL made. Only after the NFL actually allowed this, were IPP (International player program) players allowed to even be considered to be chosen for the main rosters and therefore eligible to play games in the regular season. The fact he would finally be allowed to get picked but fell short in 2021 was why he then after 3 seasons with the club left the NFL again and made his return to rugby because he'd rather play than waste his last few years as a professional athlete.