Even if Sonny Bill is approaching the end of his career and is going to be on an exorbitantly high salary, I get the feeling he will give any team that signs him some value. He isn't the type to loaf about on his past successes, he will be driven and set standards for his teammates. It would be like signing Zlatan in football.

....while paying for Messe

My main worry is if he does get the salary banded about, is this going to set a precedent for others in future contract negotiations. They'll see one getting it and want a piece of the action. Don't get me wrong if it was offered to me I'd snap their hand off for it.

How many players do you know with SBW skill set?

I don’t, but it isn’t going to stop others seeing the wages and thinking I want a slice of that.

He’s still better than any player in your team. He would muller your powder puff pack

be great to see him playing in SL.

be great to see him play in a wire shirt..... i would love him now in this team... just what we need.

no way we spending that kind of cash.... so im happy see him turn out for toronto.

This kind of thing becomes a problem in sports without a salary cap, when a lot of clubs are well resourced, eg in football and where there are alternatives like China where mediocre players can earn super wages.

The worst nightmare for a club is a situation like Alexis Sanchez at United or Mesut Ozil at Arsenal where a club puts someone stellar wages who then doesn't deliver, and they have teammates who are performing much better who are on much lower wages and then start using that salary as a benchmark. It's probably why Aaron Ramsey let his Arsenal contract run down so he could leave on a free and cash in at Juventus.

In RL....not so much. The salary cap bites and the only way you can earn megabucks is to get yourself as a marquee player on one of a very small group of clubs. The scarcity of those spots limits the ability for players to throw their weight around in contract negotiations. Ramsey would have found it much harder to get the contract that he did, if the marquee player rule applied in football and there were only a handful of potential landing spots that were already coveted by lots of other top players.

I disagree slightly with it doesn't happen in sports with a salary cap, look at the NFL. I see you maybe a fan with a Broncos helmet. Kirk Cousins as a free agent went to the Vikings on a $28 million contract. Then Matt Ryan (debatable whether he is as good as Cousins) gets a $30 million dollar contract. Dak Prescott is in his final year as a rookie and it is rumoured to be to be trying to get $34 million a year or he is going to go elsewhere. There's obviously space on their caps and there is a hell of a lot more money in the sport but it happens.

I do agree with the not so much in RL, but it is there to be manipulated if you can bag a marquee spot.

He was superb vs. Wales today. Still a great player.

The difference here is that these kind of £5m salaries in RL are only viable 'outside' the normal salary cap through the marquee spots, which are scarce. There are only 2 available per team, and even then how many of the 12 SL teams can actually afford exceptional salaries. A player's ability to bargain a mega wage depends on him having credible options to go elsewhere.

In the NFL those huge salaries fit inside the cap and there are 32 teams who can pay up to the cap (although have different cap space available at any point in time). There are more potential landing spots for someone who wants big money so top players can leverage that. In practice you tend to see these exorbitant deals go to quarterbacks who are on the market at the right time, when a team who is already strong and thinks its in a window to win now/soon (so won't be anywhere near a high draft pick), needs to retain/recruit a quarterback. Teams will overpay rather than risk the lottery of not having the right quarterback which could undermine the whole rest of their team. So the guys like you say like Cousins, Ryan, get big deals and Jared Goff too.

The interesting thing to look for now is whether that really has set a benchmark effect. Are the next group of quarterbacks who are coming off contract going to be able to negotiate hugely inflated deals...Prescott, Winston, Mariota? Dak maybe, although I think he needs a strong end of this season. I think Winston and Mariota will struggle to beat the market. Other teams have seen the problems that come when you overpay for someone who doesn't give really elite production.

Also look at what happened to Melvin Gordon who went on strike then came back with his tail between his legs and also will probably struggle to cash in on the kind of deal he hoped for.

It will happen in RL too where other clubs will see what Toronto really get for SBW. They won't expect him to win Toronto SL, but they'd need to see some return such as SBW being close to MOS level and it having a transformative effect on marketing for Toronto and bringing the crowds in. If he was just so-so, or got injured a lot, or his presence didn't excite the city, then other clubs will be more risk-averse when it comes to sinking huge money in to one player.

Canadians aren't that naive Sally.

That’s a very fair point and I completely agree with your counterpoint. Melvin Gordon has shot himself in the foot, a injury plagued season last year and a lack of form has left him no option.

Was reminiscing about when we signed Andrew Johns; just can’t see anything floor that happening again. The media interest, buildup to the game and the game itself. Great memories

Just seems like a massive publicity stunt, the wage offered is rediculous if true. He will be a decent player still but not a world beater and not worth this kind of money as well as stakes in the club. Sonny must be looking at this and rubbing his hands together at a potential big retirement plan. i don't blame him at all and it will be good to see him play super league but i just think Toronto are looking at it for publicity rather than just a player they need.