Titans offer Campbell $4.5M extension to keep him from free agency

The Gold Coast Titans have looked to get out ahead of the curve to keep Jayden Campbell, offering their playmaking ace $4.5 million over the next half-decade in a massive extension move they hope will keep him off the market.

Campbell, 25, has been a bright spot in a bad season for the Titans – and that’s bad timing for the Gold Coast, considering he’s off-contract and able to sign with rival clubs from November this year.

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The Sporting Base can immediately offer up one reason why Campbell may be looking to leave: He’s a big fan of Des Hasler, who at the moment is leaving the club at the end of the season, and he wants to see what happens in that space before he commits to any longer than he needs to. Should Des leave, “JC” may follow him out the door.

Campbell’s preference is still to stay with the Titans, but he’s open to testing the waters.

The problem for the Gold Coast is that, should he do that, they would be sucked into a bidding war.

There’s plenty who would be interested (and some who are already informally looking), including the St George Illawarra Dragons, who was named in a report by the Daily Telegraph today. The Knights and Rabbitohs are two other interested parties.

And so the club’s retention squad has looked to beat all that by simply upping Campbell’s deal before November 1 hits. Right now, he’s earning around $700,000 a season, but this extension – should he sign it in its current form – would see him get a $100,000 upgrade in 2027, before that slowly ratchets up to around $1.1 million by 2031, the last year in the deal.

The club is hoping that, between the rich deal, which would make him one of the biggest earners for the organisation alongside Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and David Fifita (both of whom may soon leave), and loyalty, JC picks them.

“It would be great if Jayden stays loyal,” Titans football manager Scott Sattler said.

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“He has all the qualities to be a poster boy for the Titans. His dad debuted on the Gold Coast in ’98, and Jayden’s family has had such a great legacy with the Titans… Jayden has really matured, and from all reports, his commitment is outstanding.”

“He’s worth $1M, absolutely,” Sattler added. “You also have to weigh up what a player can bring off the field, how they engage with the community and whether they’ve got a good connection to fans. Jayden ticks all those. He’s a local junior, his father is a Titans legend, and Jayden played his footy on the Gold Coast, so it would be great to see him at the forefront of the Titans’ success.

“Like his father, Jayden is a very brave player. He just has that instinctive brilliance that you can’t coach.”