Hook turns down £1 million offer

twinytwo

James hook was offered £1m by ospreys for a 3 year deal but turned it down.

I dont know how much he would be getting paid in france.. but damn!

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,15180_6890931,00.html

Wales utility back James Hook turned down a £1m offer from Ospreys in favour of a move to Top 14 side Perpignan.
Ospreys chief Mike Cuddy said that a three-year deal, worth £1m, was offered to the highly-rated Hook with a sponsor in place to finance the deal.
But Hook rejected the proposal, leaving Cuddy to suggest that the entire Welsh international squad could all be tempted to cash-rich France within the next three seasons.
"We made James Hook a huge offer, had a sponsor in to make him an offer of over £1 million to help us over three years and that wasn't enough," Cuddy said.
"With the money that the French teams are pouring out at the moment, unless we do something about it in two or three years' time we could have the whole Welsh team running out not playing in Wales."
Ex-Osprey Gavin Henson is already with Toulon, Lee Byrne will head to Clermont after the World Cup and Hook will be at Perpignan.
The Swansea-based regional side are also losing tighthead prop Craig Mitchell to Exeter, while scrum-half Dwayne Peel is at Sale.

durkadurka

I thought this was about george hook.

I'd pay him a million to fcuk off somewhere

porterbelly

He's getting more than that in France I think. 500,000 a season or something

Risteard

Plus I think a reason he left was that he wants to play outhalf and probably feels that Biggar is ahead of him there.

its_phil

I don't really blame the exodus of Ospreys players to France.Realistically if they were ever gonna make a semi of the HC they should have done it in the last two years with the massive amounts of talent there.

The players probably see that they wont win it with the Ospreys so they fancy their chances abroad.Most of the Ospreys players leaving have won a ML and an Anglo-Welsh,so why not have a go at winning the HC and a different league title in a different country.

Obviously the money is a huge factor for a career that is so short.But i do think they are moving to better their careers as well.Things can get stale.

Quint2010

Is Hook THAT good?..

funky penguin

When he gets going, he's excellent. I always liked him at 13.

accensi0n

funky penguin wrote: »

When he gets going, he's excellent. I always liked him at 13.

Yeah, I only saw him play 2 or 3 times at 13 and that was in the past year and he seemed really good there.

Kaka10

£330,000 a season isn't a lot. Kearney turned down £500,000, Sexton apparently more and god knows what Heaslip turned down to put things in perspective.

PhatPiggins

Risteard wrote: »

Plus I think a reason he left was that he wants to play outhalf and probably feels that Biggar is ahead of him there.

It's an insult to Hook and rugby in general that such an ordinary player as Biggar is ahead of him at club level.

durkadurka

On a serious note this seems to be down to a lack of central contracting. Why dont the welsh copy us?

skregs

£300,000 a year isn't crazy money, considering they say that also includes money from sponsorship deals.

Maybe he doesn't want to play in half empty stadiums in front of bored looking teenage girls who think Gavin Henson still plays for the hairsprays

PhatPiggins

PhatPiggins wrote: »

It's an insult to Hook and rugby in general that such an ordinary player as Biggar is ahead of him at club level.

agree to disagree. Biggar certainly not an ordinary player. Unfinished, unpolished yes, but has serious promise.

Would do far better as understudy to someone like Jones at Scarletts instead of Priestland (Ordinary defined), instead of being in the limelight at the Ospreys though.

Hook's not a 10 though.

thomond2006

A top operator at 10/12/13/15, IMO he's worth the money.

PhatPiggins

Deleted User wrote: »

agree to disagree. Biggar certainly not an ordinary player. Unfinished, unpolished yes, but has serious promise.

Would do far better as understudy to someone like Jones at Scarletts instead of Priestland (Ordinary defined), instead of being in the limelight at the Ospreys though.

Hook's not a 10 though.

Thats a fair point about a decent mentor but he's never impressed above ML. Fourth season as a pro and he's developed nothing other then his place kicking. He's like a poor Morne Steyn(who's over rated as well).

Everyone keeps mentioning his promise but I think it's mainly because he's relatively young.

Zimmerframe

durkadurka wrote: »

I thought this was about george hook.

Me too, was engrossed as to who wanted him

kevin99

It all comes down to money for the top rugby international players. And you can't blame them.
Their careers at the very top of the game are relatively short, so they have to make as much money as they can to give them some sort of financial security.
€1m over three seasons isn't a lot.
Welsh rugby isn't able to hold on to its top players. The money isn't there to keep them at local clubs anymore.
I don't blame any players for moving for money.

Hogzy

durkadurka wrote: »

I thought this was about george hook.

I'd pay him a million to fcuk off somewhere

George Hook is a legend. He makes RTE Rugby what it is. Without him it would be no different to BBC. He is a fantastic character that brings some much needed life to RTE Sports

Digifriendly

Kaka10 wrote: »

£330,000 a season isn't a lot. Kearney turned down £500,000, Sexton apparently more and god knows what Heaslip turned down to put things in perspective.

I'm on just over a tenth of that and I'm pretty certain I do as many hours as James Hook and I'm sure there are many others who feel the same way. Ok I know a rugby career like most sports is of a short span but it's pretty good money nonetheless IMO.

CatFromHue

Risteard wrote: »

Plus I think a reason he left was that he wants to play outhalf and probably feels that Biggar is ahead of him there.

i feel money was almost secondary in hooks move.

it was announced too early in the season that he was leaving for it to be just about the money.

he was obviously pissed off and unhappy in the workplace and wanted a change. he played 12 for the all the heineken cup games for the ospreys.

for wales he has played 15 against oz, 12 against sa, 13 against fiji, back to 12 against nz, then back to 12 against eng, 10 against scot, 13 against italy, then back to 10 against france.

if he wants to play 10 then moving is the right decision.

amcalester

Digifriendly wrote: »

I'm on just over a tenth of that and I'm pretty certain I do as many hours as James Hook and I'm sure there are many others who feel the same way. Ok I know a rugby career like most sports is of a short span but it's pretty good money nonetheless IMO.

How many people pay £30 to watch you work though?

Digifriendly

amcalester wrote: »

How many people pay £30 to watch you work though?

I take your point but I do think we live in an upside down world when entertainment ranks higher than many hard working non-entertainment jobs.

durkadurka

If you want to know how upside down the world is, watch jersey shore

Scotty #

Digifriendly wrote: »

I take your point but I do think we live in an upside down world when entertainment ranks higher than many hard working non-entertainment jobs.

There's nothing upside down about it. Those at the top of their game where hundreds of millions of Euro are generated through sponsorship, advertising, and merchandise get paid accordingly.

Digifriendly

Scotty # wrote: »

There's nothing upside down about it. Those at the top of their game where hundreds of millions of Euro are generated through sponsorship, advertising, and merchandise get paid accordingly.

So a world that puts entertainers above e.g doctors/ missionairies who are saving lives is not upside down and got its priorities wrong?

Demand and Supply.

Scotty #

Digifriendly wrote: »

So a world that puts entertainers above e.g doctors/ missionairies who are saving lives is not upside down and got its priorities wrong?

Nope. There are millions of doctors in the world and they are paid the going rate for that profession. What do you think the top 5% of doctors are paid? Far more than any Rugby player I would guess.

How many Rubgy players are at the top of their sport? Couple of hundred maybe? But yet these few hundred generate millions maybe even billions of revenue. Should they not get their fair share of the cake?

The Rooster

Digifriendly wrote: »

So a world that puts entertainers above e.g doctors/ missionairies who are saving lives is not upside down and got its priorities wrong?

There are far more doctors on €250k plus in Ireland than there are rugby players!

kevin99

How many players have central contracts with IRFU? And whata is the average contract worth?

Then how many players are contracted to each of the four provinces and how much do they earn per year of their contract?

Do centrally-contracted players have seperate contracts with their provinces?

In the end, I don't think our elite rugby players are overpaid considering the physicality of the sport and the duration of their careers.

GP's,consultants are creaming it in the medical profession. I recently paid €50 to my GP for a 4 minute consultation. I had a heavy cold, went to him for a prescription. Checked my blood pressure, temperature and wrote the 'script. I paid €15 to the pharmacist for the medicine.
If you want your GP to call to your place of residence you pay between €60 and €80.

If you want to see a consultant as a private patient it will cost you the guts of €140 for ten minutes if you're lucky.
Some of these guys and girls have public and private practices in more than one hospital. So, they are raking it in.

So, they, not missionairies earn a lot more than a professional rugby player. And neither have they reduced their fees in the recession.

Digifriendly

kevin99 wrote: »

How many players have central contracts with IRFU? And whata is the average contract worth?

Then how many players are contracted to each of the four provinces and how much do they earn per year of their contract?

Do centrally-contracted players have seperate contracts with their provinces?

In the end, I don't think our elite rugby players are overpaid considering the physicality of the sport and the duration of their careers.

GP's,consultants are creaming it in the medical profession. I recently paid €50 to my GP for a 4 minute consultation. I had a heavy cold, went to him for a prescription. Checked my blood pressure, temperature and wrote the 'script. I paid €15 to the pharmacist for the medicine.
If you want your GP to call to your place of residence you pay between €60 and €80.

If you want to see a consultant as a private patient it will cost you the guts of €140 for ten minutes if you're lucky.
Some of these guys and girls have public and private practices in more than one hospital. So, they are raking it in.

So, they, not missionairies earn a lot more than a professional rugby player. And neither have they reduced their fees in the recession.

I 'm not arguing with your figures for one moment re doctors but what about medical missionairies saving lives? Are they not worth more than they earn?

Digifriendly

Digifriendly wrote: »

I 'm not arguing with your figures for one moment re doctors but what about medical missionairies saving lives? Are they not worth more than they earn?

One could simply argue that to a Missionary, the value they receive is far greater than any payment could hope to be.

Their utility function (satisfaction) derived from the work involves far less of a weighting towards actual physical earnings than it does for someone who plays sport to earn a living.

It's all relative.

SparKing

Rugby?

Digifriendly

Deleted User wrote: »

One could simply argue that to a Missionary, the value they receive is far greater than any payment could hope to be.

Their utility function (satisfaction) derived from the work involves far less of a weighting towards actual physical earnings than it does for someone who plays sport to earn a living.

It's all relative.

I take your point and I am speaking a bit from personal experience here as my aunt was such a medical missionary but to keep on the subject of rugby and not go off topic as requested I do feel that certain sportsmen are over paid including some (not all BTW) rugby players. Dan Carter's supposed deal with Racing Metro is obscene in my opinion but others may beg to disagee.

It's simple Supply and Demand though.

Unusual and incomparable talent is in tiny supply, and is demanded. Hence it can name its own price.

oh eh, and Rugby Rugby Rugby.

CatFromHue

yeah some rugby players, like all professions (nobody mention the banks please!!), are over payed.

the way i see it if you add value to the club, and generate revenue that sustains your wages, then you deserve the high wages

sustain is the key word.

if carter joins on big wages and helps them win the top 14 and heineken cup it was a good investment. by winning these tournaments he would have helped the club make money, in turn paying his wages.

if he joins, plays rubbish, they dont make the play offs of the top 14, and dont get out of the group stages of the heineken cup then its a bad investment.

carter is the best player in the world in his position so you could argue he would make a difference to they team.

also a fool and his money are easily parted, this could be applied to a few of the high spending french owners.

cp

kevin99 wrote: »

How many players have central contracts with IRFU? And whata is the average contract worth?

Then how many players are contracted to each of the four provinces and how much do they earn per year of their contract?

Do centrally-contracted players have seperate contracts with their provinces?

Can't answer that but one thing not mentioned here is the fact that the provinces give over a huge amount of their gates to the IRFU as part of the arrangement.

I cant' see the Welsh regions agreeing to that, and without it, where does the finances come for central contracts?

I think the clear-out in Wales might be a blessing in disguise, far too many primadonna's in regional rugby.

wonton

I just love that the only top irish player playing for a club outside his country, is playing at a club that can't even keep their own players.

CIARAN_BOYLE

cp wrote: »

Can't answer that but one thing not mentioned here is the fact that the provinces give over a huge amount of their gates to the IRFU as part of the arrangement.

IRFU take 50% of ERC knock out gates, 100% of all prize money from ERC competitions and 100% of ERC television money

There is probably other places they take money as well but those I'm certain of