i think the reasoning behind this is to scare off any would be buyer cos they'll have to buy him out of his 6 year contract....thats gotta be a £1m at least

Well done Wigan.
Fantastic for RL

Is it? Contracts mean nothing, if the RFU come back in 12 months time and decide they want him, they will get him. Tomkins, by way of the 3 season guarantee thing is admitting Union is the long term goal.

IMO he's just waiting to see how his brother finds it. If he's in the England squad, on twice Sam's salary and loving it, I still expect Sam to go.

Only if they wanna pay big big money. The NRL is just a much a possibilty as Union. Once there new cap comes into place they are gonna have plenty money to spend. The big positive is Tomkins is in Rugby League, even better its SL for the next few years at least.

This.

If they try to sign him in the next 3 years they will face quite a bit of legal bother.

Well played IL!

I can see him at Souths after the 2013 RLWC. Hope so.

Well done Wigan.

When his brother does what most players do and flops and comes back and gets battered Sam might realise the NRL is the place for him.

Good news!

Why don't you just say it and admit you're praying he goes. Never mind the loss he would be to RL in general.

When he does eventually leave us, hopefully it's to the NRL.

I hope he does stay. But the words he is coming out with suggest his aim is still Union in the long term.

This is great news. Tomkins is a proper star. Not a possible star, like Eastmond, or an overhyped star, like his brother Joel. He's the real deal. Very good news.

You could well be right but I reckon his long term aim is to secure his future financially. If he gets this from playing RL, I'm positive he'll stay and see out his career. If not he'll go and nobody could blame him.

Saturday finally confirmed what Wigan fans had known for a while. This lad is the real deal. He's not a flash in the pan or a flat track bully but is the first genuine world class back England has produced in a very long time.

We've had world class forwards like Morley, Farrell, Sculthorpe and Peacock but our backs have never been more then standard.

We've now got a back that can rightfully be placed alongside guys like Marshall, Thurston and Inglis. Only people with a real inferiority complex when it comes to England would deny that (well those plus the odd jealous non Wigan fan).

We've not got 3 years breathing space to produce some more, grow the game and convince this lad he's in the right place.

Great news for Wigan and RL in general.

I think this will happen,I can see Sam going to the NRL which is the lesser of two evils.

If he does go to the dark side we have worrying times for our game in the near future,hopefully this is not the case.

I think this is excellent news, not only for Wigan, but also for the game of RL in the UK as a whole.

Well in Sam, superb to see his comments today about only wanting to play for Wigan.

Can we cheer him at the KC at the weekend? Put your club bias behind you for once and support him.

Glad he's staying, think it's sad he gets so much hate, he's such a class player.

Sam's on 5Live now.

'in 3 years time i'll sit down with Ian Lenegan and decide whether I want to go to the NRL or stay with Wigan'

Great that he didn't even mention yawnion as an option.

www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/no ... ur-nations Quote Tomkins to be promoted as RFL's 2013 face of the sport'" Quote But whereas the senior Tomkins will now head for Saracens after the Premiership club agreed to pay a transfer fee of £250,000, the junior one has accepted an upgraded deal with Wigan thought to be worth around £300,000 a year and which will allow the Rugby Football League to promote him as the face of British rugby league ahead of the 2013 World Cup'"

www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/no ... ur-nations Quote Tomkins to be promoted as RFL's 2013 face of the sport'" Quote But whereas the senior Tomkins will now head for Saracens after the Premiership club agreed to pay a transfer fee of £250,000, the junior one has accepted an upgraded deal with Wigan thought to be worth around £300,000 a year and which will allow the Rugby Football League to promote him as the face of British rugby league ahead of the 2013 World Cup'"

So , have the RFL changed the salary cap rules ? , and neglected to tell everybody

, or is this a ' central contract ' ?

Surely it would be sensible and prudent to actually announce what any rule changes are , before you let clubs exploit them ?

That is Nigel's homework for tonight. Gotta have a 17 page ammendment to the bible, complete with legal references and long, preferably latin words by the morning for distribution to the other clubs.

I smell a rat...