Dylan Brown’s $13 million deal set to create massive Payne Haas drama for Brisbane Broncos.
Brown’s eye-watering Knights deal could have a huge flow-on effect.
Dylan Brown’s eye-watering $13 million offer from the Newcastle Knights could cause a domino effect at rival clubs and there are already concerns around what it could mean for Payne Haas and the Brisbane Broncos. While debate continues to swirl about whether Brown is worth such an astronomical fee or whether it represents good business from Newcastle, the fact of the matter is other players and their managers will surely now be pondering whether they can secure a similar type of deal.
And for the Broncos, it could inevitably speed up negotiations with Haas to agree on a bumper new extension with the club, and ward off potential interest from NRL rivals. Haas’ current deal with Brisbane runs until the end of the 2026 season, meaning that unless he reaches an agreement with the Broncos to extend before November 1 this year, the Blues and Kangaroos prop will be free to negotiate with rival clubs for 2027 onwards.
Pictured left to right, Dylan Brown and Broncos prop, Payne Haas.
Dylan Brown’s massive deal with the Knights could make the Broncos feel a bit nervous about trying to keep hold of superstar prop, Payne Haas. Pic: Getty
Haas already decided to test himself on the open market as a free agent in 2023, before eventually penning a three-year extension with the Broncos worth a reported $3.6 million. And after seeing the type of money that Newcastle are willing to throw at Brown to secure his signature for the next 10 years, Brisbane would surely be wary about a similar thing happening with Haas.
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Reports have emerged this week that the Broncos and Haas are close to agreeing a lucrative new contract extension that would effectively keep him at the club for life. But until a deal has been agreed and the 25-year-old has signed on the dotted line, speculation about the future of the game’s premier middle forward is sure to rumble on.
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Payne Haas would attract huge offers on the open market
Speaking on SENQ’s Breakfast program on Friday, former Broncos star Andrew McCullough said rival clubs would be queuing up to try and sign Haas, who he believes has more influence on games than Brown does at Parramatta. When Haas is at his barnstorming best, it usually lays the platform for his side to capitalise on and it’s no surprise that his best performances in the Origin arena culminated in a series win for the Blues in 2024.
Seen here, Payne Haas playing for the Broncos against the Roosters.
Payne Haas was at his brilliant best for the Broncos against the Roosters. Pic: Getty
“He’ll attract some big, big numbers.” McCullough told SEN about the potential offers from rival clubs if Haas were to hit the open market. “To me personally, he’s more influential than Dylan Brown if he went to a team, that’s my opinion. The way he would be in the engine room, the minutes he plays, the type of guy he is.
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“That middle forward is rare in what he does, talk about halves being rare, front rowers actually lay the platform to begin with to allow those halves the time. There’s not too many of them (front rowers) getting around and I just believe he’s the type of player that can really set up a team.”
Haas is settled in Brisbane with his family and has relatives that live in Queensland too, so it would likely take a massive offer to lure him out of the state. But Broncos great Corey Parker says until the club has tied down Haas long-term, Brisbane could be facing a “conundrum” similar to the Brown scenario.
“He had five to six years left at Parramatta, they needed a circuit breaker the Newcastle Knights so they went ‘you know what, we’ll go ten years on very similar money’. “If someone comes in like North Queensland for example and say to Payne ‘we want you for ten years’ and the Broncos only offered five, where do you go?”
