Brisbane Broncos may lack salary cap space to retain Adam Reynolds

Adam Reynolds has no interest in playing for any NRL club other than the Broncos, but with salary cap space tight and plenty of players pushing for upgrades, the champion half’s hand may be forced.

The Brisbane Broncos are facing a salary cap squeeze that could force champion halfback Adam Reynolds into early retirement from the NRL – before he is ready to hang up the boots.

The 34-year-old Broncos skipper was expected to retire at the end of this year.

But after a fantastic start to the year now he wants to play on, although his hamstring injury last night showed why there are concerns about his ageing body.

To complicate the situation, it can be revealed Hull Kingston Rovers coach Willie Peters is chasing Reynolds to play in the UK Super League.

This is a big story bubbling away behind the scenes at the Broncos but both Reynolds and the club are determined to ensure it won’t be as messy or unsavoury as his departure from Souths in 2021.

Adam Reynolds is keen to play on in 2026 - but do the Broncos have cap space?

The problem is club officials had not planned for Reynolds to be part of their 2026 salary cap, especially after signing Ben Hunt from St George Illawarra on a two-year deal.

The Broncos are under immense cap pressure.

They have Kotoni Staggs, Payne Haas, Selwyn Cobbo, Koby Hetherington and Cory Paix all coming off contract – and all of them expecting significant upgrades.

This is on top of having superstar fullback Reece Walsh, lock Pat Carrigan and five-eighth Ezra Mam on a combined $3 million.

This is where it gets difficult around Reynolds’ future.

It now appears that the signing of Hunt might force him out.

Reynolds has made it clear that he doesn’t wish to play for another NRL club after settling in so well in Brisbane. He has a future there as a coach.

The Hull Kingston Rovers opportunity might be the way to go.

We spoke to Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy about the situation.

“Reyno’s a huge part of our club, he’s our captain and he’s very much become part of Brisbane too,” Donaghy said, “Madge and I have a great relationship with Reyno and we know he’s super passionate about the Broncos.

“It’s only early in the season. We want to give Reyno the space and time for him to get through some games of footy and see where his mind and body is at. He’s earned that right

“None of us want to rush a decision, from our end that’s out of respect for Reyno more than anything else.

“People like Reyno are hard to find and even harder to replace, he’s been terrific for our club and we’ll keep working closely with both Reyno and Chimes (manager Steve Gillis) as the season goes on.”

Originally published as Brisbane Broncos may lack salary cap space to retain Adam Reynolds