The awkward question Louis Rees-Zammit's NFL switch poses
Louis Rees-Zammit’s transition from rugby union to the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs – if successful – could pose some awkward questions for his former sport.
While he’s yet to play a down of competitive ‘football’ in his new code, the implications of a successful transition for Rees-Zammit for rugby could be at best problematic and at worst help trigger a significant threat to the sport in the long term.
His venture into American football, a domain vastly different in technique, culture, and commercial scale, presents a fascinating case of athletic adaptability and the global mobility of sports talent. While the vast majority of rugby union fans will be cheering the Welshman on to make the Chiefs’ roster this summer – a huge achievement in itself – the blurring of boundaries between rugby and American football offers very little upside for the former.
Should Rees-Zammit secure a berth on an NFL roster as a wide receiver or running back, his potential earnings could significantly eclipse what rugby can currently offer. With average salaries in the positions between $2.5 million to $5 million annually, the $750,000 he was offered move to Japanese rugby now looks like chump change. It is understood that the Chiefs will pay him a sum in this region as part of the three-year deal he signed with them on Friday. And that’s just for starters, should he reach the top of the tree he could theoretically command a figure that is a multiple of rugby’s highest salaries, where roughly $1.2 million has become a de facto, and rarely achieved, ceiling.
Meanwhile, the highest-paid running back in the NFL – San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey – is reportedly earning an average annual salary of $16 million (£12.6 million). The highest-paid wide receiver – Tyreek Hill – is on $30 million per annum as part of a deal that could see him earn $120 million over four years.
Eye-watering figures for even the highest-paid rugby stars.
It is no scaremongering to suggest that the NFL, with its colossal financial clout, could increasingly present an irresistible allure for rugby talents seeking new challenges beyond the 15-man game. Rees-Zammit – and the likes of Christian Wade, Daniel Adongo, Christian Scotland-Williamson, Hayden Smith and Lawrence Okoye before him – are all modern guinea pigs – and to use the parlance of another American sport – “one home run” in a skill position could alter how rugby athletes are viewed forever.
This argument might sound alarmist to you. You might point to Jordan Mailata – the giant former South Syndey Rabbitohs U20s player – who has broken through and is now earning $16 million a year after coming through the IPP programme.
The truth was the same size which opened the door to the NFL had closed the door to rugby league. At 6’7 and 140kg plus [at the time] he was simply too big for a career in the NRL, where he was unable to meet the cardio requirements of the fast-paced 13-man code. “Rugby league requires a mix of aerobic and anaerobic fitness,” said Mailata’s former league coach Michael Maguire in an interview with the Player’s Voice back in 2018. “Attack, defend, get back the 10 metres and so on. And that’s not easy when you’re running around at his size.”
His success – and Jarryd Hayne’s to an extent before him – admittedly haven’t opened the floodgates for the hoovering up of NRL athletes by the NFL.
Yet rugby union can offer the NFL something that league can’t: global reach.
Former NFL punter turned pundit Pat McAfee gave a disconcerting insight on his podcast as to how American Football at large might be viewing the venture: “If we can break through on rugby players becoming NFL guys, then the global expansion of the sport will expedite quickly, because rugby is everywhere, seemingly… If this dude [Louis Rees-Zammit] hits, rugby fans everywhere are going to see the highlights… It’s a copycat league too. If this guy has success, especially with the Chiefs too, you’ll see another 30 players get signed by different teams.”
This paradigm shift, where rugby union could inadvertently serve as a talent reservoir for American football, legitimately threatens rugby’s long-term sustainability. The potential success of Rees-Zammit in the NFL could set a precedent, encouraging other franchises to mine rugby union for athletic gems, creating a sudden talent drain away from a sport where superstars are already in relatively short supply.
And what happens when rugby’s best are going to try their hand at American football? The eyeballs of rugby fans – inevitably – will follow too.
If ever there was a set of fans that the NFL might covert, it’s rugby (be it union or league) supporters. The overlaps are obvious. Both are violent contact sports played by explosive, big-bodied athletes. Rugby’s more global appeal – however – offers the NFL a platform for expansion, an expansion that has so far alluded the American sport despite its vast financial leverage.
It’s the figurative equivalent of the NFL psychologically ‘little bro-ing’ rugby. While many American football fans barely have a concept of rugby union as a sport, the NFL could plausibly be seen as the pinnacle of achievement for a generation of aspiring rugby players and fans. How soon until it’s not the Finn Russells of the world that young fans want to emulate, but rather the Patrick Mahomes?
Pessimists might argue that it is a process that is already taking place. The fear is that Rees-Zammit’s success could now accelerate it.
Of course on a human level, it’s hard not to want Rees-Zammit to realise his dream. Aside from his athletic abilities, he’s an utterly likeable young man who is chasing his sporting goals very much against the odds.
It’s also about our collective sporting ego. He’s one of our best and we want him to show the world that he can mix it in the planet’s most lucrative sports league.
As Rees-Zammit navigates his new path in the NFL, we, the rugby community will watch closely. We must however acknowledge that his success could come with a hefty price tag.
Comments on RugbyPass
His decision to play in France isn’t a petulant decision as this article suggests. I reckon that France is the perfect place to demonstrate that he can mix it in those battles Rassie references. It’s a good decision to try get into the squad. My personal opinion is that he wins more battles than he loses. I don’t have Rassie’s stats machine behind me, but Daymian’s is so strong moving through traffic and in the rip.
3 Go to commentsWow! Argie forward dominance is something I have not read in years….
1 Go to commentsIs the ‘snub’ really why he is leaving? He hasn’t said that has he? You don’t have to stay in SA to play for the Boks, so it’s not that he’s giving up on trying to get into the squad as the case would be in, say, England or New Zealand. Rassie made it clear that the early camps won’t feature all the players to play for the Boks this year so I can’t imagine Dayimani was too offended by being overlooked this time. It just seems like a sensationalist angle to take for a story without really knowing the player’s intentions.
3 Go to commentsWell, it is easily one of the best Irish sides, it’s just that their historical standard is very low.
3 Go to commentsThe Irish side is good. They have lost 2 games in the last 23 tests. In the last 12 months they have have a 60% win rate against the top 5 sides in the world. Over the same period south africa have a 67% win rate against the top 5 teams, and New Zealand are at 40%.
3 Go to commentsOnly 1247 days until RWC 2027 starts Bin Smuth🤣Can’t wait to see how unhinged you’re still gonna get between now & then
200 Go to commentsany chance either team will improve on their u20 world cup performances this time around? I assume both sides will be deeply disappointed with how things went.
6 Go to commentsAnother poor articles by a poor journo, nothing new from Ben, at least you are consistently bad lol, geez I will try and watch the match later, clearly Benny was only looking to one end of the pitch, hard to tell whom the Baby Blacks were playing if it wasn’t in the header 😄😄
7 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
7 Go to commentsProbably the worst article on a rugby match I have ever read
200 Go to commentsWho hurt this man.. LoL 😭
200 Go to commentsIt unfortunate for the Jaguares that they became formidable just as super rugby as we knew came to an end. However, the idea of bringing them back is nonsensical. While I enjoyed the Jaguares and the South African flavour of the comp, a selling point of this incarnation of super rugby is that all games are on a decent time for an Aussie audience.
4 Go to commentslol that’s your opinion Ben, All Blacks benefited from a forward pass try, SA played 77 min without a recognised hooker, missed a no try conversion and a penalty could have would have but didn’t
200 Go to commentsBrett, from my distant perspective, I hope you get to keep the Rebels. Any ideas of teams from Japan or Argentina are just crazy. Won’t happen. If you look at logistics, it is much easier to get to LA from Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney than to Buenos Aires. All with direct non-stop daily flights. You may even get some “gringos” to watch the games, with some younger players compared to Giteau and Nonu who still “play” in the area. I think it is virtually impossible to get a competitive Argie team for SR. All Pumas are in Europe, almost all second tier players are also in Europe. Fringe players are in South American pro rugby tournament (and many still in the MLR!) but these players who might be most interested in joining a new Jaguares do not have the skills to compete. As I have been saying since the Jaguares joined, they should have had TWO teams to make logistics for visiting teams better and Argie player development improved as well. Jaguares/Pumas was not ideal. But this is where Pichot and his cronies did not think long enough. Further the country with he new president “No hay Plata” Milei is in a very difficult situation. Galperin, the richest man in Argentina owns the Miami franchise of MLR. I don’t think you can get him to invest in Argentina. Actually, he played rugby himself. He was a fly half. He is worth around $6 billion!
4 Go to commentsWell done Baby Boks we will take the Draw. No 9 senseless long passes in those conditions. let’s move on and hope for some good weather
7 Go to commentsHow did it end a draw. South Africa didn’t score any points as far as I can see
7 Go to commentsNo doubt this will be a fantastic occasion and I plan to be there, but I think the bean counters have won out over the rugby brains. In my opinion, it is foolhardy to give the Black Ferns the experience of playing in front of 60,000+ at Twickenham a year before they might be playing there in a World Cup Final. Better to play France at Twickenham and Black Ferns at Kingsholm. The difference in takings would be miniscule.
1 Go to commentsDom kant
200 Go to commentsBen is a little incel desperately trying to stir the pot and stay relevant. We used to get mad at his articles. Now we just feel sorry for him
200 Go to commentsPerhaps we may need to put an asterisk on NZ’s ‘87 WC win since the Boks weren’t there. You know, just as a reminder. Poor Ben Smith. Go cry somewhere else.
200 Go to comments