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SYDNEY - Sonny Bill Williams will only earn the same money he is paid in the National Rugby League (NRL) by the Bulldogs if he signs to play rugby union with Toulon, according to the French club's millionaire owner.
Toulon owner-president Mourad Boudjellal says he hopes to sign
Williams - but not for anywhere near the A$3 million ($3.91 million) over two seasons that has been reported since the Kiwi international fled Australia on Saturday.
If that is the case, it will be some welcome news for the NRL which, with the salary cap, cannot match the figures being bandied about as it looks to retain its stars.
And in a further development, Boudjellal forecast more player raids on the NRL should Williams and former Australian test player Luke Rooney - who has already signed with Toulon - prove a success in rugby union.
"Today I think that Sonny Bill Williams, should he sign with Toulon, it would be for the equivalent conditions to what he's getting currently," Boudjellal told ABC radio from Florida.
"But it's not at all a question of money. If Sonny Bill Williams wants to play rugby today, he no longer wants to play league."
Although Boudjellal was adamant Toulon has yet to sign Williams, he says his club has been in discussions with the 22-year-old since June.
"It was perhaps that moment that Sonny Bill Williams wanted to play rugby," said Boudjellal, who described Williams as an "extraordinary" player.
"(But) today we haven't signed a contract because I haven't met Sonny Bill Williams.
"I know he wishes to play rugby. I know he wishes to play at Toulon under Tana Umaga. Now I also know he has some problems with his contract.
"I hope, first of all, that things are cleared up and then we'll see if financially it's something that is achievable for us, for our club.
"And if these two conditions come together, we will sign a contract with Sonny Bill Williams."
Boudjellal believed the progress of Williams, if signed, and Rooney would be closely monitored by other French clubs.
"If Sonny Bill Williams signs with Toulon with Luke Rooney, if the integration goes well, if they reach a level that we hope they will at rugby very quickly, it's certain that we'll depend more and more on having league players coming to France," he said.
Boudjellal says the introduction of the new laws (ELVs) in rugby union this year to speed up the game will help league players make the transition to union.
"It's obvious that with the new rules of rugby the integration of league players is going to be easier," he said.
"It's possible, even probable, that more and more rugby (clubs) in Europe will turn towards league players in Australia and New Zealand.
"The new rules will favour that. They'll favour the integration of league players into rugby. It will be easier."
Boudjellal says it would be unwise for the Bulldogs not to release the player, believing it would serve nothing because Williams now has his sights on playing for the All Blacks and has lost the desire for rugby league.
Williams has another four years remaining on his contract with the Bulldogs.
- AAP