Alex Hunter
Dog4Life
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- Nov 22, 2007
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While David Fifita may not have been willing to stay at Brisbane for less, Luke Keary is on the verge of announcing a three-year extension with the Sydney Roosters for a pay packet well below what he would demand on the open market.
Keary, who isn’t off contract until the end of next year, is finalising a three-year extension with the back-to-back reigning champions worth around $2.8 million, averaging out at just over $930,000 per season, until 2024. The retention of fullback James Tedesco is also expected to follow for the Roosters in the coming months, locking in the duo they will build the club around.
While Keary will receive a pay rise of more than $200,000 per season, there’s little doubt he would have become the game’s latest million-dollar player if he went elsewhere. He was also being touted as a potential face of the Brisbane expansion team to enter the competition in 2022 or 2023.
Few would argue that he is the best playmaker in the NRL already, but his new deal won’t reflect that, proving some players are willing to stay for less to be part of special teams and play football in September.
Kieran Foran, Ash Taylor, Ben Hunt, Daly Cherry-Evans, Nathan Cleary, Michael Morgan, Anthony Milford and Mitchell Pearce are currently getting paid more than Keary will receive in his new deal.
If the Gold Coast Titans are willing to splash the cash and fork out $1.2m for Fifita, Keary could well demand similar figures given he has represented his country and won three NRL premierships during his career. He was also voted the best five-eighth in the NRL by his peers in the recent 2020 Players’ Poll.
Luke Keary is best No.6 in the game, according to the 150 who voted in the NRL Players' Poll earlier this month.
Injuries have denied Keary the chance to play State of Origin, but the 2018 Clive Churchill Medal winner is expected to make his NSW debut in the No.6 jersey at the end of the year.
The 28-year-old, who helped set up the match-winning try in last season’s grand final against the Canberra Raiders, is entering the prime of his career having turned 28 at the start of the year and has taken his game to another level following the retirement of Cooper Cronk.
Unlike some players, Keary has recognised that if he demanded more than $1m to stay, it would cost the team elsewhere.
Such a payday could mean the Morris brothers wouldn’t be able to stay on for another season, or Tedesco wouldn’t be able to receive the type of money that reflects his new status as the best player in the game.
The Roosters, led by coach Trent Robinson and club supremo Nick Politis, have also recognised the importance of not paying overs. They offered Latrell Mitchell $800,000 last year, however he wanted more.
The Roosters wouldn’t budge, offering what they believed he was worth to their team, not what he could attract elsewhere.
Mitchell’s defection has opened the door for the tricolours to lure Sonny Bill Williams back to the NRL, with the dual international set to hop on a plane in the coming days bound for a Sydney hotel room for a fortnight of quarantine before rejoining his old club.
Keary, who isn’t off contract until the end of next year, is finalising a three-year extension with the back-to-back reigning champions worth around $2.8 million, averaging out at just over $930,000 per season, until 2024. The retention of fullback James Tedesco is also expected to follow for the Roosters in the coming months, locking in the duo they will build the club around.
While Keary will receive a pay rise of more than $200,000 per season, there’s little doubt he would have become the game’s latest million-dollar player if he went elsewhere. He was also being touted as a potential face of the Brisbane expansion team to enter the competition in 2022 or 2023.
Few would argue that he is the best playmaker in the NRL already, but his new deal won’t reflect that, proving some players are willing to stay for less to be part of special teams and play football in September.
Kieran Foran, Ash Taylor, Ben Hunt, Daly Cherry-Evans, Nathan Cleary, Michael Morgan, Anthony Milford and Mitchell Pearce are currently getting paid more than Keary will receive in his new deal.
If the Gold Coast Titans are willing to splash the cash and fork out $1.2m for Fifita, Keary could well demand similar figures given he has represented his country and won three NRL premierships during his career. He was also voted the best five-eighth in the NRL by his peers in the recent 2020 Players’ Poll.
Luke Keary is best No.6 in the game, according to the 150 who voted in the NRL Players' Poll earlier this month.
Injuries have denied Keary the chance to play State of Origin, but the 2018 Clive Churchill Medal winner is expected to make his NSW debut in the No.6 jersey at the end of the year.
The 28-year-old, who helped set up the match-winning try in last season’s grand final against the Canberra Raiders, is entering the prime of his career having turned 28 at the start of the year and has taken his game to another level following the retirement of Cooper Cronk.
Unlike some players, Keary has recognised that if he demanded more than $1m to stay, it would cost the team elsewhere.
Such a payday could mean the Morris brothers wouldn’t be able to stay on for another season, or Tedesco wouldn’t be able to receive the type of money that reflects his new status as the best player in the game.
The Roosters, led by coach Trent Robinson and club supremo Nick Politis, have also recognised the importance of not paying overs. They offered Latrell Mitchell $800,000 last year, however he wanted more.
The Roosters wouldn’t budge, offering what they believed he was worth to their team, not what he could attract elsewhere.
Mitchell’s defection has opened the door for the tricolours to lure Sonny Bill Williams back to the NRL, with the dual international set to hop on a plane in the coming days bound for a Sydney hotel room for a fortnight of quarantine before rejoining his old club.
