Bar Myler i would imagine the other 3 would of been free transfers or very minimal at the most.
Not saying transfer fees can't be paid anyway, but should be included as part of the teams salary cap spend.

And that's on the buying teams cap, in case its not clear!

I've no doubt a player like SBW would make a massive contribution towards, if not cover completely, his wages through shirt sales, sponsorship and ticket sales.

Imagine the boost to Rugby League in this country if any club did sign Sonny Bill Williams!

But this stupid Salary Cap idea would prevent it. Talk about the game in this country (or those at the top currently running it) shooting itself in the foot.

Rubbish! 10 out of 14 clubs lost money last year. The other 4 made minuscule profits. Where do you think this money is going to come from that allows a SL club to spend 700,000 pounds on star players from other codes/comps?

Do you really believe $BW's would sell 700k's worth of jerseys? Lol

But SBW has a well publicised agreement with an NRL Club if and when he returns to League.
He would also want 50% more to play in England, if he reniged on his NRL deal (he has form and history) the best players want to get as much as they can but still play at highest level in their sport, that is not currently ESL in most peoples opinion.

SBW had a history of injuries at the Bulldogs and the way he left that Club and the manner he did it may not count for much in an England context but it would not help his marketability in general.

Even if you signed better more proven long term players like Slater, Inglis, Thurston and Cam Smith are there the fans out there just waiting to buy a ticket and Shirt to watch them when they join the Club?

I do not believe so.

It's up to those running each club to do what they think is in the best interests of their club. Nobody forces them to sign any particular player.

This Salary Cap idea is though just an unneccessary, artificial and counter-productive restriction.

The aim of a Rugby League club in this country is not to make a profit.

The aim is to be as successful as possible whilst breaking-even.

But it is better to break even at £5 million in, £5 million out than
£100,000 in, £100,000 out.

True but if you are suggesting clubs should be able to spend what ever they like on players, which will invariabky lead to an "arms race" scenario where do you think this new money for clubs to spend more than 1.6mill is going to come from? 75% of the clubs at the moment can't even spend 1.6mill without a loss.

Salary cap is there for two reasons
1. To level the playing field and make the comp more competitve
2. Protect the clubs from themselves

You can argue on the success or failure of each point for each club but the reality would be no salary cap = no chance for 75% of clubs to win games against the other 25% & more clubs going bust. I don't see how either is a preferable outcome for the game.

Thats a pretty naive argument.

Firstly, im not sure where you got your statistics from, secondly, i would limit the attention paid to some clubs profit statements, it isnt a normal business, isnt a listed company, and there isnt much of an incentive to report a huge profit. I know Leeds will often make loans or pay management fees to Leeds carnegie etc which can affect the bottom line profit figure.

Thirdly, they dont just sell jerseys, they sell tickets, they sell sponsorship, they win trophies. Would you find it inconceivable that SBW at Leeds could add another 2k to the gate? If we say Leeds average ticket cost is £15, that would £390k added to turnover, sell 5k more shirts at £30 a pop is another £150k. Thats £540k brought in, ignoring incidentals like the extra food and drink sold on matchdays, additional sponsorship brought in because of the higher profile, and prize money won etc etc, it is better for a club to spend £700k on SBW and bring in an extra £540k than it would be to spend £200k on a Mick Dobson or Blake Green and bring £0 additional income.

And that doesnt even address the less tangible benefits of things like a higher profile which the game needs.

I know your club has run out of money after you defended the signing of a Willie Mason to the hilt, but that doesnt mean the world is falling in.

1. As has been said earlier on this thread, the same few clubs have dominated Super League in this country since the Salary Cap idea was introduced.

2. Bradford etc.

The Salary Cap idea in this country should be ended.

The outcome would be no worse than what we have now and there would be significant upside potential.