TALKING to NRL footballers as much as we do in this gig it becomes pretty easy to sense how happy a player is, beyond just the paddock.
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In that regard, you'd be hard-pressed to find a player more content in his life and career than Dragons enforcer Tariq Sims. It's not hard to figure.
The 29-year-old has produced a career resurgence among the best we've seen in recent years, after twice thinking a sickening broken leg could spell the end his career.
There'd been other hurdles. His time in Newcastle was plagued by false-starts and ultimately an early exit mid-season in 2016 - his career at a cross-road.
All these stories have been told before. Kickoff's point in this column is that he's had enough headaches in his career. He doesn't need anymore.
That was certainly apparent when he signed a three-year contract extension prior to season kickoff. It was a deal he and wife Ash negotiated on their own behalf.
"In the back end of my career my wife and I made the call to brush the player managers and represent myself," Sims told this columnist at the time.
"It's a tricky process and if you're not prepared for it it can hurt you in the back end but my wife's as smart as a whip and it was a great process.
"It's been a long process but I'm very happy with the outcome and very excited to commit for the next couple of years."
The likes of Wade Graham and Tim Mannah have since followed suit. Obviously all three are later in their careers.
It's a different matter when you're a rookie but, given what we're constantly seeing across the league in regards to player contracts, there's plenty to be said for the go-it-alone approach.
At Parramatta, Clint Gutherson's contract battle is being played out in the media, with club and management pointing the finger at the other for the leaks. It's chicken or the egg stuff.
It's common practice for player managers to 'background' media - how else do reporters get their scoops? It's why you'll rarely see or hear media types rush to bash the seven-per-centers.
Mitch Moses is also subject to contract speculation - the same talk that seems to have followed him his whole career.
At the Roosters, Latrell Mitchell's future has also been subject to wild speculation amid a split with his longtime manager Steve Deacon.
He's been linked to a move to Souths while every other club would be interested in his services. Player managers are well aware of this and you can bet plenty are already maneuvering. Seven per cent of what he's worth is a lot of coin.
Mitchell is a superstar, but he's still only 21 and remains a footy-mad kid from Taree at heart. It's part of his charm, but one can only hope there are enough good people around him to guide him through.
On what we see every week in the game, most NRL player managers don't fall into that category. In fact, if NRL players care about their reputations - and their general sensitivity to criticism suggests they do - perhaps they should ask a few more questions of the men they give seven or more per cent of their contracts to.
I'm sure Daly Cherry-Evans is happy counting his millions, but his reputation will likely never fully recover from his infamous back flip on the Titans.
That was all after a PR push from his management not so much promoting his services as parading them in front of Cronulla Leagues Club for all to see.
That stuff's simply poor taste. The stakes are much higher in other instances. Look back over every salary cap scandal. CEO's and chairmen have lost jobs, players and coaches premierships and reputations.
Player managers have never been hit with the big stick. They've been the teflon men and yet last year still sought a Supreme Court injunction to prevent the NRL's introduction of a more rigorous accreditation process to regulate their conduct. It was ultimately dropped.
This is all before we even mention the coaching contract circus that gripped the most recent off-season. It's not going to go away, neither are player managers.
You have to wonder if - like Tariq Sims - the game and everyone in it would be a lot happier and better off without them.