Rugby league transfer record

The Rugby league transfer record is the highest-ever sum of money paid by a club to purchase the contract, and thereby obtain the playing services of another club's player. It has been broken in every decade since the sport became professional around the start of the 20th century. Between the 1930s and 1980s, international transfer bans were imposed, removed and renewed at different times due to the sport's governing bodies' fears of excessive talent drain overseas. In 1998, the sport's transfer system was changed to allow any player aged 24 or over to move between clubs at the end of their contract without a fee being paid.^[1][2] As a result, transfer fees in rugby league became much more uncommon. The current record fee paid is £700,000 (equivalent to £1,013,364 in 2023), paid by the New Zealand Warriors to the Wigan Warriors in 2013 for Sam Tomkins.^[3]

Record progression

Year	Player	From	To	Fee (£)	Notes
19011901	James Lomas	Bramley	Salford	100[4]
19011911	James Lomas	Salford	Oldham	300
19131913	Billy Batten	Hunslet	Hull F.C.	600[5]
1921 1921	Harold Buck	Hunslet	Leeds	1,000[4]
1930 1930	Stan Smith	Wakefield Trinity	Leeds	1,075
1934 1934	Stan Brogden	Huddersfield	Leeds	1,200
19371937	Vic Hey	Ipswitch	Leeds	1,400[6]	[lower-alpha 1]
1937 1937	Billy Belshaw	Liverpool	Warrington	1,450
19471947	Bill Davies	Huddersfield	Dewsbury	1,650[7]
19471947	Bill Hudson	Batley	Wigan	2,000
1948 1948	Jimmy Ledgard	Dewsbury	Leigh	2,650
1948 1948	Ike Owens	Leeds	Castleford	2,750
1949 1949	Stan McCormick	Belle Vue Rangers	St. Helens	4,000[8]
1949 1949	Albert Naughton	Widnes	Warrington	4,600[9]
1950 1950	Bruce Ryan	Hull F.C.	Leeds	4,750
1950 1950	Joe Egan	Wigan	Leigh	5,000[7]
19521952	Lewis Jones	Llanelli	Leeds	6,000[10]
1957 1957	Mick Sullivan	Huddersfield	Wigan	9,500[10]
1959 1959	Ike Southward	Workington Town	Oldham	10,650[11]
1961 1961	Mick Sullivan	Wigan	St. Helens	11,000[10]
1961 1961	Ike Southward	Oldham	Workington Town	11,002 10s[11]
1961 1961	Brian Shaw	Hunslet	Leeds	13,250[12]	[lower-alpha 2]
1968 1968	Colin Dixon	Halifax	Salford	15,000	[lower-alpha 3]
1969 1969	Paul Charlton	Workington Town	Salford	12,500[13]
19711971	Mal Reilly	Castleford	Manly-Warringah	15,000[14]
1973 1973	Bill Ashurst	Wigan	Penrith	15,000
19731973	Mike Stephenson	Dewsbury	Penrith	20,000
1978 1978	Steve Norton	Castleford	Hull F.C.	25,000	[lower-alpha 4]
1978 1978	Phil Hogan	Barrow	Hull Kingston Rovers	33,000
1980 1980	Len Casey	Bradford	Hull Kingston Rovers	38,000[15]
1980 1980	Trevor Skerrett	Wakefield Trinity	Hull F.C.	40,000
1981 1981	George Fairbairn	Wigan	Hull Kingston Rovers	72,500
1985 1985	Ellery Hanley	Bradford	Wigan	150,000	[lower-alpha 5]
1986 1986	Joe Lydon	Widnes	Wigan	100,000
1987 1987	Andy Gregory	Warrington	Wigan	130,000
1987 1987	Lee Crooks	Hull F.C.	Leeds	150,000[16]
1987 1987	Garry Schofield	Hull F.C.	Leeds	155,000[17]
19891989	Graham Steadman	Featherstone Rovers	Castleford	170,000	[lower-alpha 6]
1991 1991	Ellery Hanley	Wigan	Leeds	250,000
1992 1992	Martin Offiah	Widnes	Wigan	440,000[10]
1995 1995	Paul Newlove	Bradford	St. Helens	500,000[18]	[lower-alpha 7]
2006 2006	Stuart Fielden	Bradford	Wigan	450,000[19]
2013 2013	Sam Tomkins	Wigan	New Zealand	700,000[3]

Notes

1. This was a "signing on fee" and was at the time higher than the world record transfer fee.
2. Shaw was signed for £9,500 cash, and included a player exchange deal which saw Leeds players Bernard Prior and Norman Burton join Hunslet.
3. Dixon was signed for £12,000 cash, and included a player exchange deal which saw Salford player Mike Kelly join Halifax.
4. Hull player Jimmy Crampton joined Castleford as part of this deal.
5. Hanley was signed for £85,000 cash, and included a player exchange deal which saw Wigan players Steve Donlan and Phil Ford join Bradford.
6. Castleford paid an initial fee of £145,000 for Steadman, and agreed to play an additional £25,000 if he played a Test for Great Britain.
7. Newlove was signed for £250,000 cash, and included a player exchange deal which saw Saints players Paul Loughlin, Bernard Dwyer and Sonny Nickle join Bradford.

References

1. Hadfield, Dave (25 June 1998). "Rugby League: Super League delays decision on TV deal". The Independent. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
2. "'Bosman' deal for rugby". The People. 7 June 1998. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
3. "Sam Tomkins to leave Wigan Warriors for New Zealand Warriors in world record deal after World Cup". Telegraph. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
4. Baker, Andrew (20 August 1995). "100 years of rugby league: From the great divide to the Super era". The Independent. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
5. "Billy Batten". Hull FC. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
6. Collins, Tony (2006). Rugby League in Twentieth Century Britain: A Social and Cultural History. United Kingdom: Routledge. p. 24. ISBN 9780203088357.
7. Collins, Tony (2006). Rugby League in Twentieth Century Britain: A Social and Cultural History. United Kingdom: Routledge. p. 87. ISBN 9780203088357.
8. Dooley, Dave. "Stan McCormick". Saints Heritage Society. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
9. Skentelbery, Gary (January 2006). "Wolves season review 2006". Warrington Worldwide. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
10. skysports.com (31 October 2013). "Lewis Jones, Martin Offiah, Garry Schofield and Mick Sullivan to join the Rugby League Hall of Fame". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
11. "Lord Of The Wings". News & Star. 24 March 2006. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
12. "Brian Shaw RIP". Leeds Rhinos. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
13. "Paul Charlton joins Workington Town Hall of Fame". News & Star. CN Group. 2 September 2011. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
14. Collins, Tony (2006). Rugby League in Twentieth Century Britain: A Social and Cultural History. United Kingdom: Routledge. p. 127. ISBN 9780203088357.
15. "Casey named in Greatest Ever 13". Hull Kingston Rovers RLFC. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
16. Richards, Martin (27 January 1997). "Lee makes up for those wasted years". The Mirror. London.
17. "Four living legends inducted into RL Hall of Fame". Super League. 31 October 2013. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
18. Hadfield, Dave (30 November 1995). "World record fee for Newlove". The Independent. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
19. Hadfield, Dave (22 June 2006). "Desperate Wigan capture Fielden for record £450,000". The Independent. Retrieved 24 December 2013.