Haas to join Bunnies after Broncos ‘lowball’ – but Brisbane will still make last-ditch bid

The Brisbane Broncos are this week rushing to upgrade their tabled contract extension offer for Payne Haas, after a reported “lowball” from Red Hill sent Payne Haas into Wayne Bennett and South Sydney’s waiting arms from 2027 on.

Haas has agreed to join the Rabbitohs from next season on a bumper, big-money deal through to 2029, with get-out clauses for the last few seasons that mean the championship prop can leave early if Bennett is no longer with the club. The shock signing comes just weeks after Code Sports suggested the 26-year-old had recently signed a one-year extension.

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The deal rocked the NRL world, especially because Haas is widely considered the best prop to have ever played the position. Most mail coming from Brisbane had been that they were doing everything they could to retain the superstar.

And yet, Bennett and the Bunnies have quietly struck one of the biggest NRL deals ever.

According to reports from elsewhere, it’s likely because Brisbane “lowballed” their star prop. “It’s been explained to me that Haas left the Broncos because they offered him considerably less than he is on at the moment… they lowballed him, simple,” 9News journalist Danny Weidler claimed.

There’s only one hope for the Broncos now — Haas now has a 10-day cooldown where he can change his mind.

NRL rules allow the exiting player’s current club to still table details after the registration, and that’s exactly what Red Hill’s powerbrokers will do: The Sporting Base has heard they’re already putting together a five-year mega-package.

It’s a huge about-face from the one-year extension that had been reported by News Corp some weeks ago, and boasts a hike in bottom-line pay. Should Haas accept, it’s understood he would be paid around $1.3 million a season in this Broncos deal, and nearly $7 million through to 2031. Signing that deal would likely keep the 26-year-old as a one-club player for his career.

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Haas may well stick with his guns, though — and odds are on him staying with the exit plans, especially after he declared he “needs a chance” during negotiations with Brisbane bosses recently. Between winning the 2025 premiership and his eagerness to play with Latrell Mitchell and David Fifita, this Base writer expects Haas to head to Sydney in 2027.

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But, never say never, especially with the coin the Brisbane squad is wielding. Michael Maguire will also be meeting with Haas sometime this week to discuss the future of the club after winning their ’25 campaign. “I don’t believe he will leave,” Madge had told Code Sports just a little earlier this week, especially as the championship club prepares to defend its NRL throne this year.

“Payne has said he wants to stay, and that’s a fair reflection of where we are at the moment,” he’d added.