Payne Haas re-signs with Brisbane Broncos after 'ridiculous' detail called out
The Brisbane Broncos star is staying put after a long-running contract saga.
The long-running contract saga of Payne Haas is finally over, with the NRL superstar re-signing with the Brisbane Broncos on a three-year extension. The NSW Origin prop knocked back a $2 million-per-season contract with a rival suitor to accept the Broncos' deal.
Hass' manager Ahmad Merhi said the 23-year-old was over the moon to get his future sorted. "Payne is delighted. This is his celebratory moment," Merhi said.
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Merhi said the new Broncos contract was "private and confidential", but added there were other suitors who had put forward lucrative offers. Merhi has always said getting the deal done was not about money and confirmed Haas had been in high demand.
"Payne has knocked back a $2 million-per-season deal to stay at Brisbane," he said. "The offer was emailed to me. I showed it to Payne and he knocked it back.
"Brisbane have just been great to deal with. CEO Dave Donaghy has ensured the process has been smooth and what transpired the last couple of weeks has got it over the line. I was always hopeful of Payne staying at Brisbane. It was always going to be the best thing for him. It is what we all wanted."
The Bulldogs and Storm were among the NRL clubs said to be most interested in securing the services of Haas, but veteran league reporter Phil Rothfield told NRL 360 on Monday night that there was also big money on offer from Australian rugby. “There is genuine interest from rugby union for Payne Haas,” Rothfield said. “Western Force have contacted (Rugby Australia CEO) Hamish McLennan and said 'look we want to have a crack' and they have had a crack.
"It’ll be interesting to watch it play out and it’s another reason why Payne has put everything on hold until November so before he makes a decision on the Broncos he can check what the rugby money is.” Rothfield suggested the interest from the Force could spark a tug-of-war with rugby league, but fellow NRL 360 panellists Gorden Tallis, Braith Anasta and Brent Read didn't believe the Force had a genuine chance of landing the Brisbane prop.
Confusion reigns over Payne Haas contract saga
Three-time premiership winner Tallis pointed to Haas wanting to remain close to his family in Queensland as a reason why the Perth move makd no sense. The league legend said Haas' ambition to win a premiership and be part of a winning team would also seem to rule the Force out of the equation.
“He wanted to be a $1 million player, the Broncos offered him a million. He said he wanted to be in a winning team, the Broncos are second on the ladder. He said he wanted to be near family, and they live in Queensland," Tallis said.
Read added: "There’s no issue that they (Force) have even had a crack at him, it’s ridiculous if you bang the drum about wanting to be successful and play on winning teams, this is not the team you go to. It’s great they put an offer on the table but he’s not going to go there. It’s not going to happen.”
Anasta questioned whether the Haas links to the Force were a "gee up" and admitted it was hard to understand what the determining factor would in the prop's eventual decision. “Where does he want to go, why does he want to go anywhere?" Anasta asked. "It’s hard to know what’s true and what’s not.”
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