Andrew Ferguson: Applying “Buzzonomics” To Calculate Lachlan Galvin’s True Worth

Dylan Brown’s recent 10 year, 13-million dollar deal to sign with the Newcastle Knights has received plenty of comment and amazement in the past few weeks since it was announced. It has automatically led the mainstream media to begin playing salary cap auditors and player managers.

Phil Rothfield recently tried to prove that the salary cap isn’t working and his proof was values that he made up with fellow Salary cap auditor cosplayer Brent Read. The whole article was just a bunch of whinging and garbage that relied on guesses and ZERO fact. But that’s how they roll.

Neil Breen has followed this by suggesting that West Tigers five-eighth Lachlan Galvin could secure for himself a $20 million deal. Now look, you may scoff at this, but what if I were to tell you that Breen is lowballing.

I have it on a marginally better authority than Breen that Galvin could very likely play until he is 36 years old – Daly Cherry-Evans is proving right now that its possible.

And if he pushes through injuries, much like Adam Reynolds always does, he could very easily play until he’s 40.

Now when you consider that Galvin is still just 19 years old, That means he’s got 20 seasons in front of him, and if we compare him to an equally skilled player – Johnathon Thurston, we can ascertain his value.

Thurston apparently signed a three-year deal to join the Cowboys from the Bulldogs, earning him 220 grand a year. Thurston also reportedly signed a 4-year, $5 million deal in 2013, when he was 29 years old. He earnt $1 million in each of his last 2 seasons. If we use this data, and apply Buzzonomics to Galvin’s value now we get this potential deal:

Galvin is a damned fool if he signs for a paltry $20 million deal, unless of course its $20 million over the next 5 years.

Now you’ve come this far and thought ‘that all seems reasonable, but at some point, his value might put some pressure on his teams salary cap,’ and you’d be right.

But given how amazing Galvin obviously will be, let alone already is, he will undoubtedly become the player that breaks the salary cap mould and becomes, essentially, an NRL employee who is paid outside of any clubs cap.

And that club will be the Tigers. The Wests Tigers have given every other club plenty of time to produce their own Lachlan Galvin and all have failed. The Tigers even kept out of every teams way, intentionally being poor so that all the big name players present and future, would find them so repulsive, they’d rather sign anywhere else.

But after 20 years, you had your shot.

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