Payne Haas weighs life-changing R360 deal against Brisbane Broncos legacy

Broncos chairman Karl Morris has urged star prop Payne Haas to consider his club legacy over a staggering $3 million-per-season offer from R360, even dangling a post-career incentive.

Payne Haas. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Brisbane chair Karl Morris has urged Payne Haas to consider his legacy at the club and the opportunities that come with being a Broncos legend as the powerhouse prop weighs up a mega-offer from rebel rugby union competition R360.

This masthead revealed at the weekend that Haas was giving serious consideration to a life-changing deal from R360 given the amount of money that is believed to be on the table – it is understood Haas could earn upwards of $3 million a season with the breakaway competition.

The Broncos would love to keep Haas, but neither they nor any other rugby league club can match the money that is available to switch codes.

Money, Morris insists, shouldn’t be the only factor that Haas considers as he makes a call on his next move. The 25-year-old, who has just under 12 months remaining on his existing deal at the Broncos, has the opportunity to finish his rugby league career as an all-time great and remain a part of the Broncos well beyond his playing days.

Payne Haas is weighing up a move to R360. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Broncos chair Karl Morris. Picture: Annette Dew

“We’ll do our best to keep him,” Morris said.

“We want him to stay at the Broncos for the rest of his career. We want the to be one of the greats of the club and leave a legacy here.”

Haas is well on the way to doing just that, having helped inspire the Broncos to a drought-breaking premiership only last month. In the end, that title win over Melbourne may work against the Broncos given it was one of the few remaining items on Haas’ bucket list.

The Samoa and NSW forward has achieved almost everything the game as to offer and his head has now seemingly been turned by a new challenge, not to mention the opportunity to set he and his family up for the rest of their lives.

There has been talk Haas could earn the equivalent of $5 million a season once tax incentives are factored into the R360 offer. It’s an insane amount of money and the whisper is that R360 officials would like to announce Haas when they go public with their first slew of signings in coming weeks – they are expected to begin naming names after rugby union’s international season is over in the next fortnight.

“There is a wonderful opportunity for him to have a long association with the Brisbane Broncos past his playing career as well,” Morris said.

“He has the chance to be an all-time great at the Broncos. That will bring with it some long-term opportunities for Payne at the club.”

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Those opportunities will go up in dust if Haas elects to leave the code. The NRL has promised to hand down 10 year bans to any player or agent who becomes entangled with R360 and while there remains a level of cynicism at Rugby League Central, there is also a determination to come down hard on any defectors.

If Haas does decide to defect in coming weeks, it could mean he has played his last game for the Broncos if the NRL deems that any ban must take immediate effect.

That would be a sledgehammer blow to the Broncos in their bid to defend their title.

Originally published as Payne Haas weighs life-changing R360 deal against Brisbane Broncos legacy