Toronto Wolfpack legal battle ends as players finally receive unpaid salaries after five-year wait

A five-year legal battle to recoup unpaid salaries for Toronto Wolfpack’s players has finally reached a conclusion – with around £750,000 paid out after a campaign led by the Rugby League Players Association.

The RLPA, a branch of the GMB Union, has now effectively been dissolved after its funding was pulled earlier this year, leaving players without recognised representation. But its final act was to see through the scandal surrounding the Wolfpack to a conclusion, something they have now done successfully.

Many of Toronto’s players from their final squad in 2020 have been campaigning to recoup unpaid salaries for years. Former Wolfpack owner David Argyle had agreed to make “goodwill” payments of around £1,150 per month to those involved in the case and who were affiliated to the RLPA.

But when those payments stopped, the union launched legal proceedings. And now, it has finally emerged that the players have collectively received hundreds of thousands of pounds after those proceedings reached a conclusion.

For some, that is a big deal – as a number of Toronto players from 2020 never played at the highest level or even professionally again once they withdrew from the Super League season at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some even had to take jobs outside of rugby league to make ends meet.

“It’s a huge relief for those players to finally get the wages they were owed for so long,” the GMB’s Pete Davies said. “But it should never have got to this stage. The Rugby Football League, supported by the top clubs, admitted Toronto to the Super League, but denied them any access to equal payments from TV rights.

“Toronto never stood a chance. Unlike the RFL, GMB stepped in to help. Our lead representative Garreth Carvell worked tirelessly and relentlessly with former Toronto Wolfpack owner David Argyle to finally get this deal lover the line.”

One of those players who never featured again in Super League was former Leeds forward Anthony Mullally. He now warned other players to ensure the presence of a players union does not disappear completely to avoid a situation like this one having a worse outcome.

He said: “This process has been exhausting at times, but Garreth Carvell, Pete Davies and the GMB never gave up on us. They pushed for what was right and made sure we finally got the justice we deserved. It’s a massive relief to see it settled, and it shows how important it is for players to have real union support behind them.”

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