Reid lines up hefty pay deal
Kiwi West Ham star set for lucrative contract upgrade
All Whites captain Winston Reid may jump to the top of the list of New Zealand’s richest athletes following reports the West Ham star is set for a contract upgrade that will see him earn a weekly wage of $123,000.
The Mirror in England has reported that Reid’s new deal with the English Premier League club would put his salary on level-pegging with new signing and fellow centre-back Jose Fonte.
The 28-year-old penned a six-year contract in 2015 but is in line for an upgrade after turning in a number of impressive performances while playing 25 of West Ham’s 28 Premier League games this season.
Reid’s potential windfall could see him climb to the top of the tree of New Zealand’s highest paid sports stars, albeit temporarily.
New Zealand NBA star Steven Adams will move to the top of the sporting rich list when his mammoth $140 million four-year deal with Oklahoma City Thunder begins at the start of the new season in October.
The 23-year-old is currently on $4.3 million in the last year of his four-year rookie contract, but will move up to enjoying a weekly pay cheque of around $673,000.
Last week, Rhett Ellison, the son of Kiwi three-time Super Bowl champion Riki Ellison, also rocketed into the top tier after signing a $26 million contract with the NFL’s New York Giants.
The 28-year-old fullback and tight end is guaranteed $11.5 million from the four-year deal regardless of whether the Giants decide to cut him before the end of his contract term.
Kiwi sailor Sir Russell Coutts remains another near the top of New Zealand’s best paid sports figures, with estimated annual earnings of around $13 million.
IndyCar race driver Scott Dixon is not far behind with $11 million, while golfing pair Lydia Ko ($8 million) and Danny Lee ($6.3 million), and former All Blacks five-eighths Dan Carter ($4.2 million) are also among the country’s highest paid sports stars.
Retired All Blacks captain Richie McCaw ($2.5 million), champion jockey James McDonald ($2 million) and cross-code star Sonny Bill Williams ($1.5 million) are also among the top 11 earners.
Reid will be a leading player for the All Whites in their World Cup qualifiers against Fiji later this month, with an away clash on March 25 to be followed by a second match in Wellington on March 28.
Meanwhile, Reid’s boss at the Hammers is under pressure.
West Ham joint-chairman David Sullivan has warned manager Slaven Bilic that his side need to improve.
Sullivan voiced his frustration after the Hammers were beaten 3-2 by a Bournemouth side previously without a win this year.
Joshua King grabbed a hat-trick, including a last-minute winner, after Michail Antonio opened the scoring for the visitors and Andre Ayew made it 2-2.
And Sullivan has made it clear he wants to see better when West Ham host Leicester next weekend.
“I was very disappointed and frustrated with the manner of our defeat at Bournemouth,” said Sullivan on the club’s official website.
“We went down there determined to bounce back from the Chelsea game, but we didn’t play as well as we know we can. Slaven, the players and the staff all know we have to do better.”
“We have conceded too many goals early in halves in recent games and, while we’ve managed to get ourselves back into games like the ones at Southampton and Watford and at home to West Brom, there will be matches where we cannot equalise. That situation cannot go on.”
The Champions League ramps up another gear with key last 16 return leg matches this week. We look at the big match-ups . . .
tougher by Atletico’s impressive home record in European competitions, which includes just two losses in its last 33 matches at the Vicente Calderon.
Leverkusen showed little in Tayfun Korkut’s first game in charge on Friday to suggest it can produce something special this week.
The Bundesliga club displayed the same lack of conviction in a 1-1 draw against Werder Bremen.
Leicester vs Sevilla Tomorrow, 8.45am NZ time
Had it not been for the Champions League run, this season would have been a complete fiasco at Leicester.
Even a narrow 2-1 loss in the first leg against Sevilla wasn’t enough to save the job of the man who delivered last season’s astonishing Premier League title triumph: Claudio Ranieri.
The Italian manager has been replaced by his former assistant, Craig Shakespeare, until the end of the season.
Although staying in the Premier League is Shakespeare’s absolute priority, a place in the quarter-finals of the European competition will give his squad a confidence boost.
Leicester defender Christian Fuchs is confident the difficult season has brought the players closer together, especially after Shakespeare organised a recent bonding trip to Dubai.
“Trips like this are very, very important,” Fuchs said. “We’ve been through a lot of highs and lows.”
Leicester would reach new heights by reaching the quarter-finals. Sevilla is aiming to make the last eight for the first time since 1958.