The American Dream

As mentioned on the About Me page, this blog won’t exclusively cover academy news or the state of Munster rugby, from time to time I’ll choose one of the many strange stories that take my fancy. Today is one of those days. I’ve allowed myself to delve into one of those weird rugby tales that no longer gets discussed.

This story once again takes us back to Ronan O’Gara. In 2003 at 26 years old he was a rising star in Irish rugby, with David Humphreys getting older and O’Gara’s stock continuing to rise it was clear he was the flyhalf of the future. In the midst of the Six Nations and locked in an ongoing battle with Humphreys for the Irish 10 jersey, an unexpected story broke. The headline in the Irish Independent read, ‘$12 million Miami offer stuns O'Gara’. ROG was reportedly in talks with Miami Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga to switch codes, becoming an NFL kicker for an absurd four-year $12 million deal. When asked about it, O’Gara denied any serious contract negotiations but admitted early talks had been held when he met Huizenga in Kinsale. Being born in San Diego gave the story more credibility, the typical narrative of a man returning home to chase the American Dream.

Scared of losing such a promising talent to a lucrative deal abroad, the IRFU was hurrying to extend O’Gara’s contract. With this knowledge, O’Gara entered negotiation talks prior to the World Cup and was pleasantly surprised with the offer, agreeing to a long-term extension, but still nowhere near the original 12 million dollar offer from across the pond. Later, in his autobiography, O’Gara explained he was never actually offered any contract from Huizenga. The story was blown out of proportion and was never more than a handshake exchanged down at the Old Head of Kinsale. Never one to miss an opportunity, O’Gara leveraged this story into a more lucrative IRFU contract after learning Humphreys had received more money in a similar circumstance, after rejecting better offers flooding in from France.

In retrospect, the rumoured deal was an absurd one to begin with. The Dolphin’s kicker at the time, Olindo Mare, was one of the best in the league. He was a Pro Bowler in 2000, the NFL equivalent of an Irish All-Star, and even as one of the highest-earning kickers he made only 1.2 million dollars a year. Despite this, the ruse, intentional or not, netted O’Gara significantly more money than he could have hoped for. As we know O’Gara went on to become arguably the greatest Irish outhalf ever, trading the American Dream for an Irish one.