Doing the exercise just for the Saints squad...

Speculation, sure, but (using Eastmond's 200 as a baseline guide) I'd put it something like:

Roby 250
Graham 225
Eastmond 200
Shenton 200
Soliola 180
Wellens 180
Perry 180
Pryce 180
Wilkin 150
Gardner 125
Meli 125
Flannery 120
Puletua 120

(that's the starting 13, more or less, and already over £2.2m)

Who has said that he's been offered £200k per year?
These top line figures are quoted but what he will get from Bath I suspect will be far less than that.
I've always wondered what was on Ashton's P60 after his first year in Union. Anyone really think it would be near to the £140k that was banded around?
His other worry is that will he be a success. The two biggest success stories are Jason Robinson and Chris Ashton. Both wingmen playing in the position that is easiest to make the transition. Same as decades ago when Union players came to League.
Will he replicate those two or be another Chev Walker, Karl Pryce or Gareth Raynor?
Only time and Eastmond will tell.

Sorry if i'm getting the wrong end of the stick, but wasn't that the point of his post? That if (for example) Saints were to pay Eastmond what he is rumored to be getting at Bath, then they would have to pay the rest of the team an inflated wage, such as 180k for Wellens.

Read the thread and engage brain before jumpining in! Geoff and I were speculating what the effect of paying Eastmond £200K a year would be on the rest of Saints squads wages. Geoff seems to think the likes of Meli could then demand £125K if Eastmond was on £200K.

I disagree with him on that. I don't think it follows players of Meli's calibre and vintage could demand wage increases to that level. I think the days of doing as Andy Greg, Shaun Edwards and Elllery did at Wigan when they reputedly went in to demand a pay rise if they got a sniff of one of the others getting a wage rise are long gone at all clubs.

It's hard to take any thread seriously which states that Shenton and Eastmond should be on the same money.

Yes Eastmond has had his injury problems but the guy is an immense talent. There are a lot of people deluding themselves about this guy now that he has signed to go to RU. He and Sam Tomkins are the most naturally gifted players to emerge in SL in recent years. Whatever you think about his move, Eastmond is a very talented player indeed.

I'm gutted that he's gone to RU. To be now rubbishing the guy by suggesting that he's on a par with Shenton (no offence to Shenton, he's a decent player but if someone compared him to Sam Tomkins there would rightly be outrage on the Wigan board) is just wrong. As a RL fan I can understand the temptation to criticise him now he's leaving but it is just wrong to deny he's a big loss.

Finally there is also the star factor. We should have been building Eastmond up as a star in the game. Players like Sam T and Eastmond are special and could be used to bring in fans in the way that people flocked to see Offiah, Hanley, Edwards, Davies etc (well apart from Badwanger, who thinks Wellens is a better player than the Wales legend!). Eastmond could have been a marquee player for the sport but is now lost. Its a really bad day for RL and people need to grow up, face it and start talking about how we can sort out the mess RL has got itself into.

I understand (from a relaible source) that one of the props for Sale is on £300k per year so £200k for Eastmond is more than believeable. The Italian prop at Leicester had reportedly been offer £400k by Stade de France (whose salary bill is reportedly 9m euro per year, with Gasnier's old contract supposedly worth Aus$1m per year) before re-signing with Leicester.

Obviously as any Wigan fan can tell you all the above pale into insignificence in comparison to Matt King's wages at Warrington.

No, King's wages don't match those silly inflated figures in RU. He's just on more than anyone else in RL.

Today's RLFANS made-up fact.

Who's to say his replacement will move over?

I just don't agree that RL losing Eastmond is a disaster, he hardly played last season, didn't really shine playing for England (IMO) and is injury prone. How that suddenly makes it a disaster for RL with him leaving is beyond me.

Like I said, some RL players will convert to RU and some RU players will covert to RL. Thats just the way it is, and IMHO there isn't anyway of stopping that happen due to the financial strength, international game and general "fame" of England RU players. We can raise the SC all we want, fact is RL players want their name to be known [inationally[/i. The only way to do that is RU, ie. Chris Ashton, Jason Robinson but to name the most successful converts.

Doing nothing is not an option.