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Jason Taumalolo has signed a record-breaking ten-year contract to remain at the North Queensland Cowboys, believed to be worth $10 million.
A deal of this length suggests Taumalolo will stay in the NRL – and the Cowboys – until the end of his professional career.
The co-winner of the 2016 Dally M alongside Melbourne Storm halfback Cooper Cronk was reportedly weighing up plenty of options, including a switch to the USA to follow in Jarryd Hayne’s footsteps and attempt a career in the NFL.
The staggering deal comes after Taumalolo travelled to the States during the NRL off-season for workouts with NFL scouts.
The Cowboys’ ‘second JT’ has played 115 games for the club, won Dally M Lock of the Year twice, and has become one of the first names in the New Zealand side, having represented the Kiwis nine times.
Taumalolo’s contract is the biggest deal ever signed in the NRL, eclipsing Daly Cherry-Evans’ eight-year, $10 million package to stay with Manly in 2015.
Unfortunately for the Sea Eagles, Cherry-Evans’ form has fallen off a cliff since signing the deal. The Cowboys will be hoping something similar doesn’t happen for Taumalolo, who is regarded as the best second-rower in the game.
“I’m very proud and honoured to be able to say that I’m staying a Cowboy for life,” Taumalolo said.
“This club – including my teammates, the coaching staff, and the people that are its heart and soul – means the world to me, as do our amazing partners, members and fans.
“One of the greatest pleasures of being a professional rugby league player with the North Queensland Cowboys is running out on to our home ground at the start of the game and hearing that roar.
“I started this amazing journey as a young kid in the academy program in a Cowboys jersey and I’ll finish up in one.”
The signing has been met by some doubters, with former NRL player Matthew Johns discussing the dangers on Triple M’s Grill Team on Wednesday morning.
“If I’m his management, there is no way I’m letting him sign that contract,” said Johns.
“Someone’s going to feel ripped off by the end of it. I just don’t think these big deals work.
“On one side of the coin you may have Jason Taumalolo – as unlikely as it is right now – losing form and they [the Cowboys] all of a sudden start to get twitchy and they start trying to ship him off.
“On the other side of the coin suddenly payments go through the roof with the next TV rights deal and poor old Jason’s sitting there capable of earning $1.8 or $1.9 million a year and he’s earning $1 million.”
The contract will begin in the 2018 season and see Taumalolo remain at the Cowboys until the end of 2027.