NRL Player Agents’ Survey Part III: Secret salaries and the game’s first $2m contract
Nathan Cleary, Payne Haas and rising Dolphins star Isaiya Katoa are on track to be the NRL’s first $2 million players, according to the game’s leading agents, whose survey results reveal why that figure should remain anonymous.
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Nathan Cleary, Payne Haas and rising Dolphins playmaker Isaiya Katoa are on track to become the first NRL players to break the $2 million barrier, according to the game’s leading agents.
An exclusive Code Sports survey of more than 50 of the NRL’s leading player agents has, for the first time, uncovered what the advisers behind the superstars really think about the game.
They have had their say on a variety of topics, including the NRL’s first $2 million player, whether player salaries should be made public, third-party agreements, minimum wage, as well as giving their verdict on what Daly Cherry-Evans and Lachlan Galvin are worth on the open market.
FULL LIST: Every NRL player manager and their clients revealed
THE $2 MILLION MEN
With the NRL expanding to a 19-team competition, a new broadcast rights deal on the horizon and a greater salary cap to accompany the game’s growth, rugby league is rocketing towards producing its first $2 million-a-year player.
And that man will be Cleary, according 46.2 per cent of player agents surveyed.
The Penrith halfback is already widely considered the NRL’s best player. However, his current annual salary of about $1.2 million has him second in the game behind Newcastle’s Kalyn Ponga ($1.3 million) as the highest-paid player in the rugby league.
Cleary’s current deal expires at the end of the 2027 season, when the four-time premiership winner will turn 30.
That leaves him in prime position for a club to make a record-breaking offer to try and lure him away from Penrith.
The NRL’s new expansion clubs in Western Australia and PNG will also top-end talent will earn more money than ever before.
BRONCOS’ PAYNE FOR NEW HAAS DEAL
While Cleary easily topped the votes, Broncos enforcer Haas was next with 15.4 per cent, and he will have the first opportunity to earn a mega payday.
Haas, 25, is off contract at the end of next season and will be free to talk to rival NRL clubs from November 1, when he will challenge Ponga’s position as the game’s highest earner.
That will put further pressure on a Broncos salary cap that is already struggling to retain the likes of superstar back Selwyn Cobbo.
KATOA METEORIC PAY RISE
The surprise revelation of the agents’ valuation of players comes with Katoa.
Player agents have Katoa third-most likely to break through the $2 million barrier, with the Panthers junior (7.7 per cent) even ahead of Ponga (5.8 per cent).
Katoa is just 21 and, despite being contracted with the Dolphins until the end of 2028, by the time he finishes his career he could become the highest-paid player in NRL history.
Ex-Kangaroos five-eighth Matty Johns was full of praise for Katoa.
“I think Katoa can be the No.1 player in the game,” Johns said.
“For a young player he has so much with the ball in his hand. He is a franchise player for the Dolphins.”
It was just 10 years ago where Greg Inglis became the NRL’s first $1million player when he extended his contract with South Sydney. The likes of Cherry-Evans, Johnathan Thurston, Jarryd Hayne, Cameron Smith and Kieran Foran joined him soon after.
This masthead’s annual rich list documented that 16 players took him seven figure paydays last year. That number will rise significant in the coming season.
FREE AGENCY FALLOUT
Cherry-Evans and Galvin have made headlines this year for their very messy, public breakups with their current clubs, Manly and Wests Tigers.
Despite being 36, Cherry-Evans still appears to have serious earning capacity, with the Manly skipper expected to join the Sydney Roosters next season.
Cherry-Evans knocked back Manly’s two-year $750,000-a-season offer, with 63.5 per cent of agents believing he is still worth between $750,000 and $1 million.
Only four agents believe he should still earn above the $1 million mark, while 19.2 per cent said he should take home less than $750,000.
Galvin, 19, is contracted to the Tigers until the end of 2026 but has been linked with a move to Parramatta after informing the club he will not be there beyond his current deal.
According to 50 per cent of agents polled, Galvin is worth less than $750,000 a season, with 36.5 per cent valuing him at between $750,000 and $1 million.
KEEP SALARIES CONFIDENTIAL
Other key financial takeaways from the survey include:
– 75 per cent of agents do not support player salaries and third-party payments being published;
– An overwhelming 65.4 per cent believe the minimum wage for a full-time player should be $150,000, 25 per cent believe it should be raised to $200,000, while only three per cent think it should remain at its current figure of $135,000; and
– 63.7 per cent of agents believe current third-party rules are impacting players’ earning capacity.
Originally published as NRL Player Agents’ Survey Part III: Secret salaries and the game’s first $2m contract
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