Brent Read: Payne Haas contract presents a difficult balancing act for the Brisbane Broncos

By the end of the year Payne Haas should be the highest-paid forward in rugby league history, the question is which club will have found the cap space to make it happen.

Payne Haas’ representative future has become a subject of much intrigue this week but whether he turns out of Australia or Samoa later this year is small fry compared to the millions he is about to get thrown his way as he kicks off contract negotiations with the Brisbane Broncos.

By the end of the year, Haas may be the highest-paid forward in rugby league history.

If not at Brisbane, then at another club in the NRL given the respect and fear he now engenders across the game.

Haas enters the final year of his contract on November 1 and the Broncos will do everything in their power to make sure he doesn’t hit the open market.

It will mean shelling out plenty of coin to ensure he stays at Red Hill for the remainder of his career. Haas is already on a million-dollar deal at the Broncos but even so, he is set for a bumper pay rise given the interest he could command among rival clubs.

It’s not unrealistic to think that one of Brisbane’s competitors could make Haas the highest paid player in the game, a position currently occupied by Newcastle captain Kalyn Ponga, who is on upwards of $1.4 million.

It’s a difficult balancing act for the Broncos.

They have a one million-dollar man in their ranks in Reece Walsh, and while Ezra Mam will be back at some point this year, they are ageing at halfback and may need to keep some cash up their sleeve for an experienced playmaker.

That said, they can’t afford to lose Haas, who turns 26 at the end of the year and should be entering his prime as a front rower.

Ruminate on that for a second.

Brisbane Broncos money man, Payne Haas. Art: Scott 'Boo' Bailey

History suggests Haas is yet to reach his peak. It is frightening to think what lays ahead for the Broncos powerhouse given his best years are to come.

He has already been the Broncos’ best and most consistent player in 2025, laying the platform for their fast start while adhering to the strict rules of Ramadan, which means he has fasted and abstained from water during daylight hours throughout the month of March.

You wouldn’t know it. Haas has been a behemoth for the Broncos in the middle of the field, playing long minutes and laying waste to opposition forward packs.

Only South Sydney’s Jye Gray and Bulldogs fullback Connor Tracey are ahead of him in the Dally M count - Haas is in third spot alongside Ponga and Terrell May.

Where once he was regarded as a problem child, he has become a leader in Brisbane’s ranks. He has overcome a troubled family history to become a beacon of light for his siblings.

He has talked eloquently about wanting to set a good example for them - he has become the legal guardian for his younger brothers Geejay and Hans - as well as his own children Lalita and Luckee.

He has become a fixture for NSW and will walk into the Australian side should he choose to go down that path later in the year. If not, then Samoa will be doing cartwheels that they get their hands on the game’s premier front rower.

Which brings us back to those negotiations.

Tino Fa’asuamaleaui’s 10-year deal - worth about $1.2 million a year - is the current benchmark for NRL forwards. Fa’asuamaleaui is worth every cent. He is a monster for the Titans.

Haas is at least his equal and now he deserves to be paid like it. The Broncos have time on their side. They have seven months to get a deal done. It should be more than enough.

One thing is for certain, they can’t afford to lose him.

* * * * *

The stadium wars have reignited this week and hasn’t it caused some drama between the game’s most bitter rivals.

South Sydney and the Sydney Roosters have locked horns and exchanged barbs over the Rabbitohs’ bid to move to Allianz Stadium.

Souths have legitimate reasons for wanting to do so, not least the way Accor Stadium has been spurned by successive governments.

More than $100 million has been spent on the ground to upgrade the corporate facilities and install a monster video screen at one end of the ground.

Souths, given their agitation to move, no doubt feel it is akin to putting lipstick on a pig.

Talk of putting a roof on the ground has been shelved, there seems little appetite to invest, and Souths aren’t happy, taking their fight all the way to the office of premier Chris Minns.

Premier Minns apparently gave them a sympathetic hearing, but their long-term deal at Venues NSW makes a move problematic.

The Roosters aren’t happy either. They regard Allianz Stadium as their home and the last thing they want is for their bitter rivals to lay any claim to the ground.

The Roosters and Rabbitohs have ramped up their battle over Allianz Stadium.

They have legitimate concerns as well, not least what impact another tenant would have on a surface that is already under siege.

More than $800 million was spent to build Allianz Stadium, but the ground itself has been in the crosshairs. The Roosters have been limited to one session on the surface every fortnight in a bid to preserve the grass. Another 12 games each year would add to the stress.

Mind you, you get the feeling the issue isn’t so much the surface but the side that wants to use it.

The Roosters hate the Rabbitohs. The feeling is reciprocated.

Their spat over the stadium is part of a wider fight for rugby league to convince Premier Minns to invest in stadiums across the city.

The facilities at some clubs simply aren’t up to standard. Don’t get me started on Leichhardt Oval. Campbelltown Stadium needs work.

Cronulla’s home ground is a disgrace. Manly have had money spent on 4 Pines Park but they need more. These grounds aren’t just NRL assets. They are essential parts of the community.

A community that is chock-full of voters who could decide Premier Minns fate at the next election.

Rugby league and the grand final are worth a fortune to NSW. The least the government can do is return some of that money to the clubs that need it most.

Originally published as Brent Read: Payne Haas contract presents a difficult balancing act for the Brisbane Broncos