NRL market watch 2023: Adam Reynolds and Brisbane Broncos start talks on contract extension

There were concerns Adam Reynolds’ body was breaking down just before he left South Sydney for Brisbane. Now there are moves for him to stay at the Broncos beyond his 35th birthday.

Brisbane have begun negotiations on a new contract for Adam Reynolds that will see their champion captain extend his career in Broncos colours until the end of 2025.

Reynolds’ management has revealed the premiership playmaker has no plans for retirement and will play on for another 12 months in a huge coup for the Broncos ahead of Saturday night’s clash with Cronulla in Sydney.

Ironically, it was the Sharks who posed the greatest threat for Reynolds’ signature, with Cronulla tabling a $2 million-plus offer for the halfback maestro when he severed ties with Souths at the end of the 2021 season.

But Reynolds chose Brisbane over the Sharks and the 32-year-old is so content with his form he will ink a Broncos extension in a deal that will put the skipper on track to play 300 NRL games.

Reynolds’ current Broncos deal expires at the end of 2024, but his agent Steve Gillis confirmed he has kicked off preliminary talks with club bosses to keep the classy No.7 at Brisbane beyond his 35th birthday.

Adam Reynolds is keen to extend his stay at the Broncos. Picture: Getty Images

“Adam is keen to go on, he has made his mind up he is going to play on,” Gillis said.

“We’ve had a chat with the Broncos and that’s all it’s been at this stage.

“It’s part of a process, contracts don’t get done in one day but things will get done, so it’s a matter of us working through it and sorting it out.

“If the Broncos came out tomorrow and said “Reyno’ is retiring, everyone would say why?

“Adam is in career-best form, he is flying, so he’s keen to keep going on.

“He is happy to take it a year at a time at his age.

“We just have to get a deal done at the appropriate time.”

Since arriving at Red Hill last year, Reynolds has won 19 of 32 games for the Broncos and transformed the club from wooden spooners in 2020 to equal competition leaders this season heading into the Sharks clash.

Reynolds played 231 games for the Rabbitohs. Picture. Phil Hillyard

In his final season at Souths in 2021, there was speculation Reynolds’ body was breaking down with back and Achilles issues.

But statistically, Reynolds, who turns 33 next month, has averaged 22 games a season since his NRL debut in 2012 and if he keeps going at his rate, the 264-game warrior will surge past the 300-match mark in 2024 or 2025.

Gillis said Reynolds, who won a title at Souths in 2014, is hellbent on breaking Brisbane’s 17-year premiership drought.

Reynolds has managed at least 20 games in a season every year since 2017. Picture: Getty Images

“There was never a concern in my mind about Adam,” Gillis said.

“There were rumours about his body but there was never any evidence of that.

“If you look at his stats over the last 10 years, he has rarely missed games, so I don’t know where it came from that he was on modified training and had back and hamstring injuries.

“It was all codswallop.

“Adam loves it at the Broncos. He has helped turn the club around and the job isn’t done yet.

“He has unfinished business there, he is determined to win a premiership for the Broncos and add another trophy to the cabinet.”

Reynolds is confident his pint-sized frame can survive the rigours of the NRL to suit up for a 14th campaign in 2025.

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