League Targets

[Dctarget]

Let glitzy Racing 92 waste millions on him and he can keep Tupou in line and away from the royals with cheese.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Under Armour are very much a global company..
I know it's not a like for like comparison but rugby union stars and clubs in the NH have larger social media followings than NRL players. Walsh has the most with 500k+ followers, they even claim SBW as the most followed with 1m+ and you can guess why he has so many. Ntamack, Dupont, Kolisi, Quade, Farrell all have more followers than any league player.

Any side deals Mark gets offered here can definitely be matched up north and then some. SOO had 4m watchers, the T14 final had 5m watchers and that's just their domestic comp.

But the money Under Armour is likely to use in those markets isn't going to be on an Australian playing Rugby there and someone locals will know. Off track now anyway. I hope they nab him so he is selectable for Aus.

 

[Dctarget]

But the money Under Armour is likely to use in those markets isn't going to be on an Australian playing Rugby there and someone locals will know. Off track now anyway. I hope they nab him so he is selectable for Aus.

It's an interesting discussion, NRL has deep saturation of a very lucrative market but with a very hard ceiling. It'll never reach outside Aus. Dupont for example on the other hand is a genuine household name across France, even outside of union. Unfair comparison I know because Dupont is unique and plays for their national team but he has the 65 million household name in France + name recognition of rugby fans from another ~6 union countries.

I concede it would be easier for Mark to become marketable in Australia too. Not sure if any Australian players who have gone overseas command much advertising recognition without playing for a national team (i.e., Mack and Sione). Maybe Will Skelton, Cooper and Giteau back in the day. But Jack Maddocks and Alex Newsome aren't attracting much attention.

Mark would need to go to a top 6 side and have an impact similar to Penaud or Wainiqolo which he could do.