Payne Haas to hit NRL market in search for title-winning opportunity

Payne Haas has knocked back a lucrative Brisbane Broncos extension and is all set to hit the NRL player market in November in search of a “competitive” title-ready team he can join in a bid to win his first premiership.

Haas is signed to play for Brisbane through to the end of the 2024 NRL season and has yet to put pen to paper on any new deal with the Broncos.

Instead, the star 23-year-old prop will sound out offers from NRL suitors from November 1 with one thing on his mind: which rugby league team will give him the best chance to lift the Provan-Summons Trophy within the next half-decade.

His current deal is worth around $850,000, which he will be paid through the remainder of this season—some of which has been impacted by an ongoing ankle injury—as well as the next. Whether he does eventually re-sign with the Broncos or finds a new NRL home elsewhere, it’s likely he will command a $1,000,000 plus price tag by the mid-2020s.

The Bulldogs already lead the race behind the scenes, the Daily Telegraph has reported, though they cannot put any formal offers in until that November deadline.

Rugby Australia has also expressed interest, as has St George Illawarra.

The Broncos are far from beaten too, with Red Hill’s bosses willing to pay to keep him.

If Haas is truly invested in winning a premiership throughout his next deal though, the Dragons and Bulldogs would have to be low on his list of suitable candidates. Both are either currently rebuilding or in dire need of one, though St George Illawarra could use Shane Flanagan’s experience to sell the star prop on their project.

The Sydney Roosters and Melbourne Storm recruitment machines have also quietly rumbled to life this week, The Sporting Base has heard, with the 2025 NRL season far enough away that most of those clubs’ forward packs will be unsigned by then.

No matter which clubs express interest before November 1, however, by the time the gong rings all 17 clubs will be chasing Haas, who is arguably the best prop in the game.