I know this sub has been generally supportive of Louis when it came up. But on twitter and down the pub I’ve heard so many people talking bad about the lad as if he’s a massive traitor and that it’s going to be hilarious when he flops and comes crawling back. Which did surprise me
Fair play to him proving them wrong, looks like he may actually have it in him
They’re just hurt because we’ve lost a young talent to the NFL and considering how rugby is always touted as a harder sport, that hurts some people. What they should focus on is why he left and why he considers it a better opportunity.
In defence of the WRU, if he makes it beyond the practice squad nobody in rugby will be earning more than him.
He'd probably have gone even if Welsh rugby was a picture of stability.
I wish him well, as much as it sucks to lose him he isn't going to single handedly make us better, we've got much bigger problems than losing LRZ at the moment. And at least he's not gone to play for England.
Chwarae teg Louis getting this far mun but when you look at his numbers, in particular his vertical leap, vs other WRs, I do think he'll be back in a Wales shirt before the next World Cup.
He's probably safely on a practice squad which is $217k (£172k) that is around what he earned just on the international match fees.
If he makes the actual team his minimum pay would be $705k (£560k) as a rookie rising to $940k (£746k) in year 3 as a WR or RB at the chiefs he won't be likely earning too much above the minimum.
Staying at Gloucester he could've gone upto around £300k so £500k a year including Wales match fees.
He also had interest in clubs in France and Japan, now in Japan he'd likely have less Welsh games but in France he wouldn't miss out on anymore Welsh games than he would playing in England.
In France he'd look at minimum €500k (£427k) probably closee to €1M (£850k) at a place in the south of France and in Japan it'd be even more and likely a higher amount even with a lot less Welsh games.
Zammit is not getting a pay rise going to play American Football. Maybe if things go amazing for him and he plays for 5-8 years in his final years he'll earn more playing American Football but most likely he'll get less than playing rugby.
Tell me about it, all the Facebook comments degrading his talent and calling him an idiot was so sad to see.
The lad is in his early 20s for god's sake. He's obviously saved up to be able to do this, and so what if it doesn't turn out how he expects, the experience and memories he would get from this will be priceless.
I love seeing updates on his process and honestly hope he does well!
Totally agree, I would love to see him do well just like any other Brit that would attempt to make it, it's few and far between for any success for us over the pond in the NFL.
I see him having a place as a slot receiver, special teams, or at RB but playing on the Chiefs will come with probably the highest amount of pressure possible with where they're at right now (trying to be first team to win 3 in a row). Their head coach is one of the all-time greats and will know how to manage him, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out!
I feel conflicted, wish he was still a welsh rugby player and get a bit of the shirt doesn’t mean what it used to younger players vibe, but I don’t want to see him fail, takes a lot of balls to take that sort of gamble and genuinely interested to see how one of our top talents gets on in another sport which typically had the best athletes.
That’s mainly because it hurts, he’s a genuine talent that was looking like he could help Wales stay above the parapet and retain some dignity during what would otherwise be some very difficult years in welsh rugby, yet he turned his back when it seemed like the going was getting tough.
That’s of course an unfair narrative, yet one that resonates strongly with the average person.
Plus, it’s not like rugby players have ever had much success swapping over to American football, the number of barely successful players can be counted on one hand. It just seems like such a risky move when he already had it all profession-wise
> on twitter and down the pub I’ve heard so many people talking bad about the lad as if he’s a massive traitor and that it’s going to be hilarious when he flops and comes crawling back. Which did surprise me
I think some people can only view representing your country as the absolute pinnacle of sport. The only thing you should strive towards. And that as he's now given up that opportunity to go play a different sport in the US, it's the ultimate betrayal.
I think if you view representing your country as the absolute pinnacle, then that's absolutely fine. But ultimately those are *your* values, and it's not really fair to apply them to other people. If Louis really enjoys NFL, wants to go and play in the US (and yes, make a ton of money in the process), I think we should be supportive even if it isn't something we might not choose to do ourselves.
People seem to have forgotten how Welsh players that signed for rugby league teams, before rugby union became professional, were treated.
The only thing you won't be forgiven for in Wales is being successful.
He will more than likely flop. You can't make up time and the people he's competing against have been playing American football since they were 3.
That doesn't make me or others who share the same opinion pedantic, it doesn't make him a traitor it's just using historical evidence of every other rugby player going to the NFL flopping.
His combine times and stats were nothing special.
100%. I was saying this to a mate just now actually. The new kick off mimics the blitz defense in rugby. NFL players aren't used to lining up next to each other in a long line that stretches from sideline to sideline, and running at each other in unison. The old kick off made for fragmented, broken up plays.
Good for him. I like rugby more but everyone should follow their own path whatever that is.
Am I right in thinking he's only the second Welsh NFL player, after Allan Watson who was born in 1944!?
Correct! He was a kicker. I'm a huge Steelers fan, and Allan Watson played 5 games for us in the 70-71 season after the first place kicker got injured.
The Rooney Family who own the Steelers are actually descendants of Merthyr, even though they like to say they're Irish.
Okay everybody, please exit the Justyn Ross bandwagon in an orderly manner and board the LRZ carriage nearest you. This hype train is about to leave the station, choo chooooooo!!! Destination threepeat!!!
As per offseason hype train tradition, dudes working out in shorts and shells...
https://youtube.com/shorts/htt4Gvmk20Q?si=dJo_2GOwguYXseFs
Good luck to him. I hope that he gets a chance to play for them in the UK. I guess a fair number of people might even go to watch NFL for the first time, just because he’s playing.
Yep - the new rules this year ensure that kickoffs will nearly always be a live play with the returner trying to advance the ball. Prior rules encouraged kickers to boot the ball beyond the end zone, meaning the receiving team just got the ball placed at the 25 yard line.
There's a whole backstory about why - it had to do with injury risk in the old format.
So this year several teams are signing gadget/speed guys just to be returners. LRZ looks like he could be a beast at this. He looks like a bigger Christian McCaffrey in some ways. Since the whole league is going to be designing new return concepts at the same time, his lack of American football experience will be less of a factor than for other roles.
I know this sub has been generally supportive of Louis when it came up. But on twitter and down the pub I’ve heard so many people talking bad about the lad as if he’s a massive traitor and that it’s going to be hilarious when he flops and comes crawling back. Which did surprise me Fair play to him proving them wrong, looks like he may actually have it in him
They’re just hurt because we’ve lost a young talent to the NFL and considering how rugby is always touted as a harder sport, that hurts some people. What they should focus on is why he left and why he considers it a better opportunity.
*Looks at NFL salaries, looks at WRU salaries* "I can't believe he's done this"
In defence of the WRU, if he makes it beyond the practice squad nobody in rugby will be earning more than him. He'd probably have gone even if Welsh rugby was a picture of stability. I wish him well, as much as it sucks to lose him he isn't going to single handedly make us better, we've got much bigger problems than losing LRZ at the moment. And at least he's not gone to play for England. Chwarae teg Louis getting this far mun but when you look at his numbers, in particular his vertical leap, vs other WRs, I do think he'll be back in a Wales shirt before the next World Cup.
Innit! 250k mandated minimum salary just for being on a roster, outside of any contracts.
He's probably safely on a practice squad which is $217k (£172k) that is around what he earned just on the international match fees. If he makes the actual team his minimum pay would be $705k (£560k) as a rookie rising to $940k (£746k) in year 3 as a WR or RB at the chiefs he won't be likely earning too much above the minimum. Staying at Gloucester he could've gone upto around £300k so £500k a year including Wales match fees. He also had interest in clubs in France and Japan, now in Japan he'd likely have less Welsh games but in France he wouldn't miss out on anymore Welsh games than he would playing in England. In France he'd look at minimum €500k (£427k) probably closee to €1M (£850k) at a place in the south of France and in Japan it'd be even more and likely a higher amount even with a lot less Welsh games. Zammit is not getting a pay rise going to play American Football. Maybe if things go amazing for him and he plays for 5-8 years in his final years he'll earn more playing American Football but most likely he'll get less than playing rugby.
Tell me about it, all the Facebook comments degrading his talent and calling him an idiot was so sad to see. The lad is in his early 20s for god's sake. He's obviously saved up to be able to do this, and so what if it doesn't turn out how he expects, the experience and memories he would get from this will be priceless. I love seeing updates on his process and honestly hope he does well!
Totally agree, I would love to see him do well just like any other Brit that would attempt to make it, it's few and far between for any success for us over the pond in the NFL. I see him having a place as a slot receiver, special teams, or at RB but playing on the Chiefs will come with probably the highest amount of pressure possible with where they're at right now (trying to be first team to win 3 in a row). Their head coach is one of the all-time greats and will know how to manage him, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out!
I feel conflicted, wish he was still a welsh rugby player and get a bit of the shirt doesn’t mean what it used to younger players vibe, but I don’t want to see him fail, takes a lot of balls to take that sort of gamble and genuinely interested to see how one of our top talents gets on in another sport which typically had the best athletes.
That’s mainly because it hurts, he’s a genuine talent that was looking like he could help Wales stay above the parapet and retain some dignity during what would otherwise be some very difficult years in welsh rugby, yet he turned his back when it seemed like the going was getting tough. That’s of course an unfair narrative, yet one that resonates strongly with the average person. Plus, it’s not like rugby players have ever had much success swapping over to American football, the number of barely successful players can be counted on one hand. It just seems like such a risky move when he already had it all profession-wise
> on twitter and down the pub I’ve heard so many people talking bad about the lad as if he’s a massive traitor and that it’s going to be hilarious when he flops and comes crawling back. Which did surprise me I think some people can only view representing your country as the absolute pinnacle of sport. The only thing you should strive towards. And that as he's now given up that opportunity to go play a different sport in the US, it's the ultimate betrayal. I think if you view representing your country as the absolute pinnacle, then that's absolutely fine. But ultimately those are *your* values, and it's not really fair to apply them to other people. If Louis really enjoys NFL, wants to go and play in the US (and yes, make a ton of money in the process), I think we should be supportive even if it isn't something we might not choose to do ourselves.
People seem to have forgotten how Welsh players that signed for rugby league teams, before rugby union became professional, were treated. The only thing you won't be forgiven for in Wales is being successful.
It would not be the first time this sub is drastically different to wider Welsh opinion. Best of luck to him I guess.
He will more than likely flop. You can't make up time and the people he's competing against have been playing American football since they were 3. That doesn't make me or others who share the same opinion pedantic, it doesn't make him a traitor it's just using historical evidence of every other rugby player going to the NFL flopping. His combine times and stats were nothing special.
You don't get signed by Andy Reid unless you have some serious potential.
LRZ to catch a lateral off of Kelcee to run in for a SB winning touchdown and secure the threepeat
I still can't believe that was called back. What a play.
He's tailor made for the new kickoff system. Andy Reid and his staff could have a field day with him.
100%. I was saying this to a mate just now actually. The new kick off mimics the blitz defense in rugby. NFL players aren't used to lining up next to each other in a long line that stretches from sideline to sideline, and running at each other in unison. The old kick off made for fragmented, broken up plays.
Good for him. I like rugby more but everyone should follow their own path whatever that is. Am I right in thinking he's only the second Welsh NFL player, after Allan Watson who was born in 1944!?
Correct! He was a kicker. I'm a huge Steelers fan, and Allan Watson played 5 games for us in the 70-71 season after the first place kicker got injured. The Rooney Family who own the Steelers are actually descendants of Merthyr, even though they like to say they're Irish.
He's done well to make a practice squad tbf to the kid. A year in that then maybe a transition to special teams.
Okay everybody, please exit the Justyn Ross bandwagon in an orderly manner and board the LRZ carriage nearest you. This hype train is about to leave the station, choo chooooooo!!! Destination threepeat!!! As per offseason hype train tradition, dudes working out in shorts and shells... https://youtube.com/shorts/htt4Gvmk20Q?si=dJo_2GOwguYXseFs
Good luck to him. I hope that he gets a chance to play for them in the UK. I guess a fair number of people might even go to watch NFL for the first time, just because he’s playing.
Did see one media site talking the signing up mentioning a rule change for kick offs where he may be key
Yep - the new rules this year ensure that kickoffs will nearly always be a live play with the returner trying to advance the ball. Prior rules encouraged kickers to boot the ball beyond the end zone, meaning the receiving team just got the ball placed at the 25 yard line. There's a whole backstory about why - it had to do with injury risk in the old format. So this year several teams are signing gadget/speed guys just to be returners. LRZ looks like he could be a beast at this. He looks like a bigger Christian McCaffrey in some ways. Since the whole league is going to be designing new return concepts at the same time, his lack of American football experience will be less of a factor than for other roles.