THE SECRET TO JT’S
Rugby League immortal Johnathan Thurston has worked hard and made surprising sacrifices to forge the most successful career of any NRL player after leaving the game. He reveals to James Phelps just what it took to create his financial empire and why he wa
JOHNATHAN Thurston fired off three words when his manager told him he would be given an allowance of just $400 a week. “Are you serious?” he said. Washing cars for $11 an hour 12 months before, Thurston was suddenly rich. He had just received his first payment from the Cowboys. He had made more in a month than he was used to making a year.
“Na,” he continued. “You are taking the piss.”
His manager was not. Sam Ayoub was stone cold serious when he told the kid that had just signed the $738,000 three-year deal that he would have to live on shelf packing money.
That the rest would be invested. Fast forward 16-years and Thurston is sitting on a financial empire that includes a 50 per cent share in an airline. With more contracts than he had when he was playing, he owns eight properties, a $500,000 Mustang, and has a multimillion-dollar share portfolio. And guess what?
“My allowance has gone down by $100,” Thurston revealed.
“Not sure how or why but I’m now on $300 a week.”
The rest of arguably the game’s greatest player and rugby league’s first ever million dollar a year man’s money is reinvested into his fastgrowing fortune.
He spoke for the first time about his finances and lifestyle sacrifices that have helped him become the
NRL’S most s u c c e s s f u l post-football product in a bid to inspire NRL players to plan for life after rugby league.
“I’d like every player to start preparing for their post NRL career the same way they prepare for their football,” Thurston said.
“If they can show the same sort of commitment and determination as they do when it comes to their training and preparation for football then they will be successful in whatever it is they choose to do.
“I know it is hard to think about anything other than football while you are playing but I would encourage them all to have a plan that they are working towards.”
T h u r s t o n ’ s early experiences — his first job was as a butcher’s assistant and spending his first year as a Bulldog sharing a bedroom in a group house and also working in a car yard — have stuck with him.
He lives modestly. Home is a four-bedroom house in Townsville suburbia, its kitchen way too small now that he and his wife Samantha have four daughters — Frankie, Charlie, Lillie and Remie.
“But it’s close to the golf course,” Thurston laughs. “That’s all I cared about when I bought it.”
Having worn a rented suit when he claimed his first Dally M, Thurston is not one for spending his money on clothes. He almost exclusively dresses, head to toe, in garb given to him by sponsors.
His only extravagance is a 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500 Super Snake. Just one of 50 ever made, it has an estimated value of $500,000
Much to the disgust of Samantha, Thurston secretly spoiled himself by buying the car as a retirement present in 2017.
“It cost me a trip to the Super Bowl with Cameron Smith,” he said.
“That was going to be my retirement present but Sam canned it when she found out about the car.”
Don’t expect to find the Mustang in Thurston’s garage — his house doesn’t have one. But you will find his other car in the driveway; a second-hand Toyota.
Thurston earned as much as $1.2 million, excluding sponsorships and third-party deals, a year in a career that spanned 16 years.
And in a lesson to the long list of NRL players who go from rags to riches, Thurston, excluding the Mustang and all the dance lessons he has bought for his daughters, has invested it all.
“I began investing as soon as I came to the Cowboys,” Thurston said. “I wasn’t too happy about the allowance at the time but it was the best thing I could have done. I bought my first unit in 2005 and I am now in a good position thanks to having a financial plan.”
FLYING HIGH
In a handshake deal, Thurston officially became the co-owner of an
airline when he was given a 50 per cent share of what would become a multimillion-dollar transportation company.
It can be revealed Thurston did a handshake deal to obtain a 50 per cent share in North Queensland airline Skytrans.
“I had been mates with Johnno since he moved to Townsville,” aviation entrepreneur Peter Collings said. “I bought Skytrans in 2015 and I thought Johnno would be a perfect ambassador to help us relaunch. It was a great fit for both him and us.
“We did it (the 50 per cent share deal) on a handshake. We trust each other and the deal has worked out for the both of us.”
Worth almost nothing when Thurston did the deal, Skytrans now employs a full-time staff of 80, has a $25 million contract with a gas company, and has 11 aircraft with operations in Cape York, Brisbane, and the Torres Strait.
MILLION DOLLAR MODESTY
GIVING BACK
It was the question that Thurston could not answer.
I wasn’t too happy about the allowance at the time Johnathan Thurston
“Who are you?” Indigenous campaigner Dr Chris Sara asked on the eve of the first All Stars clash in 2010. “And where do you come from?”
So, fresh from winning the Preston Campbell medal in a man of the match performance, Thurston went searching for the answer.
“I took some time out and travelled out to where my mother was raised,” Thurston said.
“I travelled out to Mitchell, which is about 600km west of Brisbane. I felt a connection to the place as soon as I arrived and I had a very emotional experience learning about my family and what they had been through.”
The seeds for what would become the Johnathan Thurston Academy were sown during the life-changing trip.
“The kids out there didn’t have the same opportunities that I had taken for granted,” Thurston said.
“So I made a promise to do what I could to help.”
The Johnathan Thurston Academy was launched in 2018.
The charity organisation has since educated, trained and employed over 300 young men and women.
MIRROR IMAGE
His work ethic was manifest even when a media career beckoned, even though he could have retired at 37.
First appearing on Channel 9 midway through his career, Thurston spent countless hours in front of mirrors rehearsing lines and in media training sessions.
“I was terrible when I started,” Thurston, naturally shy and a man of few words, said.
“But with time and practise I got better. The club provided a lot of media training, as did Channel 9 later on. It was experience more than training and I grew in confidence when I learned to be myself.”
Thurston said it is important for all NRL players to invest in their future.
“I would encourage every player to do a course or begin learning the skills that they will need for whatever it is they want to do,” he said.
“I was lucky to have a long career. Others aren’t so lucky.
“Unfortunately careers can end suddenly and I know that the guys who are unprepared can do it tough.”
MR HARD WORK
Thurston has not had time to miss playing. Covering at least one game for Channel 9 a week, mostly travelling from Townsville to Brisbane, he also spends time in the boardroom at Transair, works as a Cowboys ambassador, sits on the board at TEQ, and jets all around the country to do work for the other companies he represents, including Suncorp, Get Ready, Drizabone and Instyle Solar.
“I can honestly say that I have missed playing on a few occasions,” he said. “I struggled a bit watching the grand final in ’17 and then the Origin series in 2018. It is the big games I miss, finals and Origin.
“I have no doubt it would be a lot worse if I wasn’t so busy. I am away from home now more than I ever was when I was playing. I think that is also why players need to have a plan. It’s not just about money. Being so competitive for so long, they need to ensure they can find a new challenge by way of a career.”