NRL 2024: Why Cameron Munster rejected $6 million Dolphins contract and stayed at Melbourne Storm
Cameron Munster was poised to sign an eye-watering $6 million deal with NRL expansion club the Dolphins, but would end up staying loyal to Melbourne. See why he turned down the opportunity to become the “king of Queensland”.
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Maroons star Cameron Munster was on the verge of signing an eye-watering $6 million NRL record contract with the Dolphins before deciding to remain in Melbourne.
Munster will celebrate the 200-game NRL milestone when the Storm face the Titans at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday.
But he could have easily been wearing a Dolphins jersey this weekend if not for an eleventh-hour change of heart when the NRL expansion club was courting him in 2022.
Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins tabled an NRL record four-year contract worth $1.5 million-a-season for Munster to become the face of the game’s newest franchise from this year.
After months of negotiations, Munster’s agent Braith Anasta revealed the Queensland and Kangaroos five-eighth decided to leave Melbourne and sign with the Dolphins.
“The Dolphins offered him $6 million over four years. It was minimum $2 million more than Melbourne over the period of time,” Anasta told The Elevate Experience podcast.
“I told him the opportunity at the Dolphins is crazy. You’re going to be the captain, king of Queensland and marketable. Your off-field endorsements will be through the roof.
“I had a coaching job for him straight after and an unreal car. I couldn’t have done a bigger, better deal for him and Melbourne weren’t coming to the party, which he wasn’t happy about. They had re-signed other players ahead of him.
“He was procrastinating all year and I said ‘I’m sick of this, you need to make a call. We’re copping bullets and I can’t get you a better deal anywhere in the world’.
“He met me in Coogee (Sydney). He hadn’t had a drink all year so we had a few drinks together and said we’ll get this deal done.
“We had a nice lunch and a few drinks and he said ‘I’m going to the Dolphins. It’s too good of a deal, I need to set my family up and I won’t need to work again’.
“I said I’ll wait and ring Wayne and Peter O’Sullivan (Dolphins recruitment chief) the next morning. He flew back to Melbourne. He was adamant he was going.
“Lucky I didn’t call Wayne because Cameron rung me the next day and said he was unsure again.
“Melbourne came to the party a bit more and after the grand final he rang me and said ‘I want to stay in Melbourne and win comps’.
“I said ‘you can retire and have no pressure. If you make the finals at the Dolphins, you’ll be a hero. If you don’t win a competition at Melbourne, you’ve failed’.
“He said ‘I want to win comps, my best chance is here, I love Melbourne and want to stay’. He took a few million less and it was loyalty over money.”
The Dolphins thought they had their man and Bennett launched a stinging attack on Munster after he failed to notify his former Origin coach of his decision.
Anasta’s revelations are proof of how close the Redcliffe club came to landing one of the biggest signings in NRL history, but Munster opted to remain loyal to the Melbourne club that offered him an NRL chance in 2014 when others gave the Rockhampton product no hope.
Munster, 29, has become a dual premiership-winner, Test and Origin star at the Storm, but he isn’t satisfied yet and wants more success.
“I had opportunities to go elsewhere and a couple of offers on the table,” Munster said.
“I’m so glad I made the decision to come down here. I learnt a lot, especially from the big three (Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater).
“Everyone laughs about me being (coach Craig Bellamy’s) son and the love-hate relationship, but I knew I didn’t want to be coached by anyone else. I’m still trying to get him to stay longer.
“I’m very grateful for the owners and Craig guiding me into the person I am. I have some rough edges, but I have a massive care for this club and hope it keeps going in the right direction.”
The Storm have burst out of the blocks with a 6-1 start to the season and Munster has found hot form after missing the opening month with a groin injury.
He has given Bellamy his fair share of headaches over the past decade, but the Storm super coach said he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“There’s a lot to say about Munster. He’s had a colourful career here,” Bellamy said.
“He’s also had a genuine care for the club and his teammates, that’s what makes him the player and person he is. Even though he’s had that knockabout persona, he has got a real genuine care for his teammates and our team.
“He sees things that a lot of other people don’t on the footy field. That’s probably his greatest strength. Sometimes he’s not quite sure what he sees but he makes something out of it.
“He’s been a pleasure to coach, interesting at times but a pleasure to have him around.”
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