Panthers lock up star fullback Dylan Edwards with longest deal at the club

Dylan Edwards has signed a rich deal with the Penrith Panthers that will likely make him a one-club player, extending all the way to the end of the 2028 NRL season—a length that eclipses every other player at the club.

The Sporting Base originally reported Penrith was tabling Edwards a deal that would see him paid $850,000 a season through to 2027, but he and his management scored an even better package.

This extension will see the 27-year-old signed for five more seasons and lift his pay packet from $500,000 a season—a true bargain for last year’s Clive Churchill Medallist—to exactly what The Sporting Base said would be the final figure back on May 5: $850,000 each campaign.

Not even Nathan Cleary and captain Isaah Yeo are signed for as long, though both are on quite the extended deals too.

Click Here To Get Our FREE NRL Tips Every Week!

With the deal, Edwards joins a tiny pool of NRL players signed to 2028, including Pat Carrigan at the Broncos, Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown at the Eels, and Nicho Hynes at the Sharks. Earlier this week Rabbitohs captain Cameron Murray also joined the group, while Tino Fa’asuamaleaui holds the longest deal all the way out to 2033.

There had been some talk early in the season that Edwards would test the waters when he was able to on November 1, but the Panthers fullback quickly snuffed those claims out.

He has been very happy in Penrith since 2015 when he joined the club to play S.G. Ball. He has risen through the ranks in the following nine years and has now played 127 games for the club. He originally debuted in 2016 after Tyrone Peachey was dropped for discipline reasons.

In the ensuing eight seasons, he has carved out a place for himself in the Panthers rearguard.

For many, Edwards has quietly become the best fullback in rugby league. He certainly has the credits, twice winning the premiership and even being awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as man of the match in 2022. The 27-year-old has been behind James Tesdesco in the New South Wales pecking order but more and more see that as a mistake.

Click Here To Get Our FREE NRL Tips Every Week!

This signing likely seals Jarome Luai’s future away from the club considering the Penrith coffers were already teetering on the edge of empty heading into the Edwards negotiations.