Melbourne enforcer Nelson Asofa-Solomona will chase the millions on offer in boxing and reportedly leave rugby league behind as he embarks on the newest chapter of his career.
Nobody can fault Asofa-Solomona wanting to add more digits to his bank account. Anthony Mundine and Paul Gallen have been the most successful NRL stars to crossover to boxing.
Gallen reportedly grossed $25 million across his boxing career.
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Mundine is said to have netted more $30 million in a 59-fight career after leaving rugby league for the squared circle in 2000.
With that in mind, it’s no wonder the powerful prop is tipped to make the announcement about the switch next week.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona in the thick of a scuffle in the Storm’s preliminary final loss to the Panthers in 2023. Getty
Asofa-Solomona was granted a release from the final two years of his contract at the end of this year and had been linked to breakaway rugby competition R360.
Several NRL clubs had also been circling the New Zealand prop.
But it’s said the 200cm, 115kg beast will most likely join Australia’s premier boxing stable No Limit, in what appears to be a win-win situation for both parties.
Wide World of Sports has contacted No Limit for comment.
If the reports are true, No Limit gets a chance to revive the same blueprint that made them and Paul Gallen some serious money.
And Asofa-Solomona, 29, will have the opportunity to make more money than he ever would in the NRL or R360.
All the ingredients are there.
Like Gallen, Asofa Solomona would fight in the heavyweight division, which is a boon for promoters trying to sell an event.
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Paul Gallen celebrates winning against Sonny Bill Williams. Getty
The public has also seen NAS in action inside and outside the ring – another significant promotional advantage.
He scored a 2023 knockout win over fellow NRL forward Jarrod Wallace and was caught on camera throwing some nasty haymakers in that infamous 2019 Bali brawl, where he reportedly stepped in for Storm teammate Suliasi Vunivalu, who was punched inside a bar.
While Asofa-Solomona isn’t as much of a household name as Gallen, he still would be a massive seller with the NRL crowd.
Yet the length of his career – like most fighters – will come down to matchmaking and how far he and his promoters want to take it.
Mundine stepped into boxing fulltime at 25.
Gallen was 33 and still playing in the NRL when he had his first pro fight in 2014.
At 29, the ex-Storm prop has the chance to make some serious cash.
Anthony Mundine paved the way for all NRL players. Getty
The slower they go, the more money they’ll make.
It has been reported he could make around $1 million a year from boxing and there are already plans for a fight against another NRL big man.
Asofa-Solomona was on a contract of nearly $850,000 a season at the Storm.
That will pale in comparison to what he can make in the ring.
Will it be Gallen/Mundine-type money? Probably not.
But it doesn’t have to be, in order to live comfortably and maximise what he has left in his professional sporting career.