In pure monetary terms, Karmichael Hunt's day in court cost him less than the cocaine that put him there.
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At $2500, the fine imposed by Southport magistrate Catherine Pirie after the Queensland Reds player pleaded guilty to four drug possession charges fell well short of the minimum $3300 he blew on the drug last September and October.
But the true cost of the month his lawyer Alistair McDougall described as a "misguided, post-season celebration" might yet to be seen.
The code-hopping football superstar seemed genuinely contrite when he fronted Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday.
The court repeatedly heard, through both his barrister and through several character references, including one from Broncos coach Wayne Bennet, Hunt wanted to own his wrongdoings and move forward.
Owning up to his mistakes, several referees wrote, was one of his defining characteristics.
The drug charges were, Mr McDougall said, a "massive wake-up call" for the father-of-two, whose wife is expecting their third child.
"His words were, 'it's very easy to deal with an issue when you tell yourself the truth,'" Mr McDougall told the court.
Hunt admitted to buying cocaine from drug dealing former Sydney Roosters player John Touma four times in September and October last year.
The court heard Hunt bought a so-called eight-ball, or 3.5 grams of the drug, for $1100 three times and on a fourth occasion he bought two grams for a sum undisclosed by the prosecution.
The deals were done at locations including a Miami pizza outlet and a Gold Coast Crowne Hotel.
The 28-year-old was one of 10 current and former football players across two codes that became embroiled in controversy when they unwittingly got caught in a Queensland Crime and Corruption sting targeting cocaine trafficking in the state's south east corner.
Touma was the central focus of CCC investigators and all those charged, six of them linked to NRL's Gold Coast Titans, are alleged to have bought drugs from him.
The CCC initially charged Hunt with four counts of drug supply, stemming from his distribution of the drugs to friends.
However, those charges were dismissed on Thursday when he agreed to plead guilty to the lesser possession charges.
Hunt was supported in court by his parents and his father-in-law and it was his teary mother, still clutching a tissue, he first turned to and hugged after Ms Pirie delivered the sentence.
Outside, Hunt gave the briefest of media statements, expressing his relief at the outcome and his wish to put the drugs saga behind him.
But while the court-imposed fine may not make much of a dent in the highly paid sports star's pocket, rugby union's governing body moved swiftly in the wake of the sentence to up the punishment ante.
The Queensland Rugby Union announced it had fined the athelete $30,000, stripped him of the Queensland Reds vice-captaincy and banned him from playing for six weeks.
Mr McDougall hinted the enormous amount of publicity surrounding Hunt being charged last month had also greatly impacted the football player's income stream.
Prior to the charges being laid, he was one of the country's most marketable sports stars, and arguably the most high profile name to fall in the CCC sting.
"He has suffered significant economic loss, an enormous economic loss, as a result of his actions," Mr McDougall told the court.
But it was the personal toll of the publicity surrounding the charges that the lawyer said had impacted the football player most.
Hunt's parents sat quietly at the back of the courtroom as proceedings unfolded and said in a statement tendered to Ms Pirie their only son was truly remorseful.
"As a family, they have vowed never to experience this again," Ms Pirie said in her sentencing remarks.
However, Hunt's ultimate drug shame, Mr McDougall said, came via his two daughters and his unborn child.
"More importantly, he has to deal with the fact that his two young daughters have to grow up with the ramifications of this as they go through their school life," he said.
"That is the most important thing and at the forefront of his mind."
Two other players netted in the CCC sting, rugby league players Beau Falloon and Jamie Dowling of the Gold Coast Titans, also appeared briefly on Thursday morning.
Unlike Hunt, the pair intend to "vigorously defend" themselves against the drug allegations, according to previous statements made by their lawyers.
The pair's case was swiftly adjourned until May 8.
Seven more current and past rugby league players are expected to face Southport Magistrates Court this month on drugs charges stemming from the CCC's Touma investigation.
Hunt, the first to publicly admit his association with the drug ring and the first to formally plead guilty, is due to front the media with Queensland Rugby Union representatives on Friday morning.
