Aussie Player Exodus

[TSR]

With regards to the lure of the Gold jersey there have been a bundle of key Wallabies signed in the last couple of weeks who could’ve all got more OS. Frost, Salakai-Loto, Wilson, McReight, Williams, Kaliea. Even Ikitau’s contract is short term, allowing him to remain in the fold. The lure of gold seems to be really delivering at the moment.

 

[LeCheese]

Petaia signs with the LA Chargers as a tight end.

Interesting the Reds are promoting it on socials - must mean there is still very much a relationship there, which is nothing but a good thing.

 

[Dctarget]

Is this where LRZ got to? Is this impressive for Petaia? Any news on whether he'll actually play?

 

[Dctarget]

My jaw just hit the ground:

NFL tight ends in 2024 make an average of $8 million per year; some of the top tight ends make around $17 million per year. This position is amongst the lowest paid in the NFL.[1]

 

[LeCheese]

TBC - no doubt he'll have to show his worth in the practice squad (like LRZ), and then who knows.

Undoubtedly signing to any team is a win for Petaia - and beneficial to the team as well as the IPP players don't take a roster spot. On a personal level, no doubt he's also pretty stoked to be setting up camp in LA instead of Jacksonville, Minnesota, etc.

 

[Braveheart81]

He'll be hard pressed making the 53 man roster.

I would expect he'll end up on the practice squad.

 

[Wilson]

Yeah, there's been no sign of bad blood at any stage, and I think they realize there's plenty to gain (and nothing to lose) from maintaining that relationship whatever happens. If he goes poorly he could be back at the Reds in a year or two, if it goes well then they can at very least piggy back on some of the media and popularity. Who knows, maybe they could even lock in tour games against RFCLA and the US Eagles for a solid return.

 

[PhilClinton]

I have no reason to disagree with you, history shows us that athletes converting to the NFL with no prior experience are given a decent runway but are likely to fail.

However, do we actually know much about what he's done over there or what teams are saying about him?

I don't know much about the IPP, is it pretty much a given that most of the players involved end up signing with teams on their practice squad due to the nature of the 'freebie' roster slot?

 

[Adam84]

good on him...

 

[Derpus]

As one of the foreign player recruits it’s effectively a free swing for club and player i believe.

He wont be on anywhere near 8m. Given he wont actually get a game and is still being paid it’s actually a pretty good move for career longevity. Particularly for a guy who started early and has a history of injuries.

 

[Tomikin]

Supposedly did went in the testing, which is no surprise his a amazing athlete.

 

[Ignoto]

He'll be hard pressed making the 53 man roster.

I dunno BR, looking at the chargers Depth Chart there is only one recognised TE - https://www.chargers.com/team/depth-chart

They may recruit further but it could be interesting to see how Jordan goes.

I'd imagine JP may do alright at route running but he's going to struggle blocking the pass rush considering the size of the guys he will be facing.

 

[Braveheart81]

They've paid moderate money for their top two TEs Conklin and Dissly. They're also widely predicted to take a tight end in the first round of the draft as it's a position of weakness.

Their coach, Jim Harbaugh coached one of the top two tight end draft prospects, Colston Loveland at Michigan and all the pundits think there's a strong chance they draft him.

 

[Rob42]

Tight end is a pretty skilful position, in terms of understanding responsibilities for blocking, receiving. Hard to believe Jordy can pick that up in 6 months, but nevertheless, good on him.

 

[Adam84]

It's a 3 year deal, which doesn't mean it'll run that long but it's a solid investment in him.

 

[LeCheese]

3 years seems the standard deal - LRZ's original deal with the Chiefs was the same (before being waived and picked up by the Jaguars on a 1yr deal), as was Hayne's

 

[Braveheart81]

An undrafted rookie contract is always three years. As Petaia (and the same applied for LRZ last year) has played a certain number of seasons of any pro sport they are eligible to skip the draft and sign directly with a team before the draft.

LRZ signed a 3 year $2.85m contract with the Chiefs last year. He had $250k of that guaranteed. They cut him so he just got the $250k.

He then was signed to the Jaguars practice squad and made $225k being on their practice squad all season. So realistically he made US$475k last year which somewhat shows how lucrative this can be even if you don't really get anywhere. I'm unsure how that would compare to his rugby salary.

It will be interesting to see what Petaia gets in guaranteed money.

 

[Wilson]

That combined salary lands somewhere around $750-800k Australian (or $400k per contract), which is probably the max Petaia would've been looking at if he stayed in Aus rugby (less than Japan/France though). Makes it a pretty good bet when you consider that's on the failing side of things. Hell, even if he completely missed out on a practice squad place he'd probably have made it back to a rugby contract by July worth $250k+ for the rest of the year.

 

[Adam84]

Also, getting paid equivof $800k AUD a year to do something you dreamed of doing in an elite system with resources you could only dream of here in Australia... pretty fucken good if you ask me

 

[Braveheart81]

The guarantees are what is important. If the contract he signs doesn't have any guarantees and he ends up being cut and signed to the practice squad his 2025 salary would be $234,000.

Still pretty amazing money to chase a dream.