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Football

03rd Nov 2015

All Blacks stat shows the difference between rugby and football stars

Bottom line

Tom Victor

Who do you reckon was the best-paid New Zealand sportsman in London last week?

One of the veterans of the All Blacks’ World Cup winning squad, perhaps, like Dan Carter or Richie McCaw?

How about one of the stars in the prime of their career, like Sonny Bill Williams?

If you said any of those, or indeed any one of the Rugby World Cup winners, you’d be wrong…

https://twitter.com/joehallwords/status/661558871106785281

Winston Reid is probably one of the 20 best centre-backs in the Premier League, or in the top 10 at a stretch, but he’s far from the best in the business.

But the Kiwi defender’s new contract at West Ham, signed at the start of the year, sees him take home £60,000 a week.

At the height of Tiger Woods’ powers, his now estranged caddy Steve Williams – who took approximately 10% of the golfer’s prizemoney – was the highest paid sportsman in New Zealand.

It is hard to argue that either Williams or Reid work as hard for their money as the likes of Carter or McCaw, but that is the economies of professional sport.