Judging by the Car Sam Tomkins drives around Wigan I can safely say he doesn't find any problems paying the bills, top Rugby League players are not paid peanuts.

He may be able to pay his bills now, but perhaps not when he's in his late 30s, 40s, 50s etc.

Plus he doesn'thave any kids to worry about now either.

i think you need get in the real world... they are professional sportsmen and money will always be a major factor in deciding where they play the chosen profession

They are in comparison to top Rugby Union players It seems. I really am struggling to see it from the "loyalty" side of things. At the end of day, In life. You look out for No.1!

It's easy to say as a fan oh I'd do anything to play for my hometown club. I'd do it for free etc etc. You probably would, and no doubt enjoy it. And then have a big predicament on your hands when at the age of 32 you retire from doing something you love and have naff all in the bank and can't feed your family. People need to think about this more realistically.

He has only got a Z4 BMW. About 14 grands worth.
Not quite a Ferrari

Tommy martin top player now a dray man ,,,,,, most top union players retire with out needing to get another job theres the difference

Is Sam moonlighting as a hairdresser?

Not many 22 year olds own a car worth £14,000 never mind the insurance he would be paying on it. And as for the retiring at 32 with nothing to do look at the likes of Andy Coley going in to Quantity Surveying, a charted surveyor is on good wages he has left Rugby League into a job that pays a fair bit higher than the average job. Paul Prescott has a law degree and many other Rugby League players do part time degree courses. As good as it sounds to be retired for the rest of your life at 32 would not satisfy you, leaving a great sport and team with a strong legacy into full time employment would give a person a lot more satisfaction in their life.

Correct. You'd struggle to name a retired RL player who no longer works full time for a living.
Some go into coaching, some are lucky enough to get into broadcasting (Clarke, Carney, O'Connor, Barry Mac) some become landlords of a pub. Had Jason Robinson not become a superstar in RU he would have no doubt chosen a similar path.

Wigan started a programme a few years ago to put players through courses / university degrees so that they could earn a good living after retirement.

It is a 2.5i i think. Just scrapes through the "mince'ometer". Only just

Joel has a A3 if you are interested. The use the same car wash as me on Woodhouse lane.

For you it may lead to satisfacttion in life, But can you also speak for every professional rugby league player? Andy Coley as I understand it has been involved with quantity surveying part time for a long time. Probably fully aware that once his rugby league career was over he'd need something to pay the bills. To go from being a full time rugby league player to retiring and having to start again at a later age, regardless of qualifications is probably no easy task. Personally I'd love to be able to have enough money to retire at 32 and not worry about working to pay the bills. The choice is then mine if I want to be more satisfied and working... or having to struggle working as a window cleaner to get by...... (no offence to any window cleaners meant btw,,, )

No it wouldn't. The court would not injunct an employee to work for an employer they didn't want to work for (that's forced labour) and a court would be unlikely to issue an injunction preventing Sam from playing for Saracens or any other RU club (since that would have effectively the same result), you would need to be able to show some very special damage to the club to have a remote chance of getting an injunction. The employer's remedy would almost certainly be damages, which of course a rich RU club like Sarries could pay. So IL would be forced to do a deal and take compensation (effectively a transfer fee) from Sarries. The 5 yr contract will help IL in bargaining terms to get a bigger settlement fee, but if he wants to go to a club like Saracens, he will go.