ALL BLACKS star Dan Carter may have to pay compensation to a sponsor if he wants to realise his dream of a rugby sabbatical in the south of France.

Carter was expected to have announced a temporary move to Toulon by now but the deal is proving difficult to deliver.

Carter and his management team are walking a legal tightrope trying to appease all his commercial partners.

On one side of the equation sits adidas, and on the other Toulon's major sponsor Puma.

The sporting goods manufacturers are fierce rivals and adidas, which made Carter the face and body of its marketing campaign in Europe last year, is moving to protect its prized asset.

It wants Carter to safeguard himself from an ambush marketing campaign by Puma, which is keen to leverage off his image, in his contract with Toulon.

If he can't, then adidas will want compensation or a chance to renegotiate its contract with Carter.

Either way it will hit Carter's bottom line, adding to an already complex situation for him. It also provides a graphic example of why so many think the sabbatical concept is unworkable.

New Zealand Rugby Union boss Steve Tew has expressed his reservations about sabbatical contracts.

However, the player drain expedited what was then just a concept into reality before a template could be designed. Now the Carter camp is writing the book as they go along.

Carter has also been linked with Toulouse but Nike sponsors them, posing further complications.