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Dylan Brown at the Eels training grounds in Kellyville on Wednesday.Credit: Sam Mooy
Brown and Kalyn Ponga will take home $1.3 million each, while centre Bradman Best is earning upwards of $700,000. That equates to almost 30 per cent of the club’s cap.
The Storm invested more than 30 per cent of their cap in Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater, but those three players were among the greatest to have played the game in the modern era.
The cap will rise to $11.55 million next season, but with just $8,250,000 left in the kitty once you remove Brown, Ponga and Best, that leaves an average $305,000 for the remaining 27 players. The average NRL salary is $375,000.
Most clubs carry anywhere from three to six players on the minimum wage, which rises to $145,000 next year. The Knights will inevitably have to carry more players at the lower end of the scale to balance the books.
They have up to 10 players without a deal for 2026.
A general rule at most clubs is your starting 13 are paid more than $400,000 each. The Knights knew all this before they chased Brown, but it will be tight.
“When clubs overextend themselves, players often pop out; expect rival clubs to target the Knights because they’ll have a massive turnover of good players who Newcastle might know are good, but also know they can no longer afford them,” one club source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The first thing a playmaker assesses when making the move to a rival club is how good is the forward pack? No halfback or five-eighth can work their magic if the team is not rolling downfield and giving the most important player time and space.
The Knights’ Jacob Saifiti charges into the Dolphins defence on Thursday night.Credit: Getty Images
The only recognised front-rower at the Knights is Jacob Saifiti. His twin brother, Daniel, joined the Dolphins this year because of cap pressure, while Leo Thompson is bound for Belmore next season.
There’s also Jack Hetherington, but he is off contract, and has averaged less than half an hour game time during the past two seasons. Brown might need to rely on a couple of rookies, including Will Sullivan, a Queensland Maroons under-19s prop expected to join the club in the coming weeks, and Australian Schoolboys forward Cody Hopwood, who is viewed as the best teenage middle forward in the country.
Brown will wear the New Zealand No.6 jersey for the next decade if he stays fit, with Melbourne’s Jahrome Hughes the Kiwis’ first-choice No.7.
Test football will become a permanent fixture at the end of the season, and with the Kiwis expected to play Tonga and Samoa this October, it means Brown is unlikely to start pre-season training with the Knights until the new year.
Any hopes of forging on-field chemistry with Ponga and Fletcher Sharpe will be delayed.
Manly can ill afford to lose Tom Trbojevic. Penrith cannot afford to lose Nathan Cleary, especially now Jarome Luai is no longer at the club. But the club that will be hit hardest should one of their key men break down with injury will be Newcastle.
What happens if Brown breaks down next year? Ditto, Ponga.
Will Dylan Brown’s signing help Newcastle retain superstar Kalyn Ponga.Credit: Getty Images
Sharpe is still learning his craft and is years away from being able to direct a team around the park. Jackson Hastings is out the door at the end of the season, while Jack Cogger becomes a free agent on November 1 and could be targeted by other clubs.
Who replaces Ponga if he gets injured is equally murky. David Armstrong did a nice job last year, but joined Leigh in the Super League, Will Pryce started a trial at the back, but is also without a contract beyond 2025, while Sharpe is capable, but why weaken one position to strengthen another?
Another thought is what happens in the extraordinary circumstance that Brown is forced to medically retire, and potentially early in his Newcastle deal. Brown’s money would be exempt from the cap, but the club will still need to initially pay out millions of dollars to any new recruit.
Playmakers and managers will now be readjusting their reserve price after Brown’s deal.
The monster contract will force Parramatta to dig deep into their pockets for a five-eighth replacement. That will inevitably force a club like Wests Tigers to pay top of the market rates to keep Lachie Galvin, who is firmly in the sights of the blue and golds.
Is Daly Cherry-Evans entitled to ask for more next year following Dylan Brown’s mega deal?Credit: Getty Images
Adam Reynolds and Daly Cherry-Evans – two of the best halfbacks in the game – are both off contract at the end of the year, but have already indicated they are keen to go around again. So what kind of deal will they ask for when it comes time to thrash out extensions with Brisbane and Manly respectively.
What about Nathan Cleary? What does the Brown deal do to his value? Cleary is happy to take a little under market value to keep the Penrith juggernaut rolling, but expect rivals to offer money that would make him the first $2 million-a-season player.
Ponga is off contract at the end of 2027 and the Knights would obviously love to keep him. The Sydney Roosters are a natural fit because they need someone to succeed skipper James Tedesco when he retires.
Rugby and the All Blacks probably pose a bigger threat to the Knights than Nick Politis’ chequebook, or another NRL club.
Newcastle recruitment chief Peter O’Sullivan told News Corp papers last month the key to keeping Ponga was building a premiership roster around him.
Signing Brown will certainly go a long way to doing that. Ponga and Brown are very alike in terms of their laid-back approach to life and ability to cope with the spotlight that shines brightly on players in a one-team town like Newcastle.
The chance to play with Ponga and now Brown is certainly going to appeal to players weighing up a move to the Hunter.
Players will take a little less if they know they are joining a team in a premiership window. This trend is the reason the strong teams are getting stronger and the struggling teams continue to do it tough.
Knowing Brown is hanging around for what most likely will be the remainder of his career, players will give a potential move to the Knights more thought. Wests Tigers have become more appealing to players off contract now Luai is on deck.
Fletcher Sharpe has impressed at five-eighth for Newcastle.Credit: Getty Images
By signing Brown for 10 years, the Knights have safeguarded themselves from raids from rival clubs, including the 18th and 19th NRL franchises about to enter the competition.
Papua New Guinea is already a confirmed starter for the 2028 season, and the tax concessions will be enough to lure one or two of the game’s top-liners.
Perth is also expected to get the green light, and poses an even bigger threat to clubs than PNG.
Clubs are concerned about Perth and whether they will join the competition as early as 2027, which puts more pressure on them to tie down their marquee players.
At least Newcastle can take heart knowing their halfback – and potentially their fullback – are off limits.
Brown will play halfback, but the fact he has spent the bulk of his career at five-eighth will go a long way to furthering the development of Fletcher Sharpe.
Knights officials are well aware of this, and look forward to seeing Brown take Sharpe under his wing, and giving him an education on the art of playing No.6.
Newcastle will ask plenty of questions in attack with Brown, Sharpe and Ponga in their line-up – especially if Best continues to be one of the premier centres in the game.
Test football might mean Brown does not arrive at Newcastle until the new year – which will delay his ability to work with Ponga and Sharpe – but it also means the Knights are not impacted during the State of Origin period by losing their new star.
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Newcastle are all but certain to lose Ponga to Queensland, and possibly Dane Gagai, plus Best to NSW – and one day Sharpe to the Blues – which means Brown’s availability becomes even more vital for at least a game or two in the middle of the season.
Two or four competition points often determines if clubs play finals football.
Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.
Dylan Brown at the Eels training grounds in Kellyville on Wednesday.Credit: Sam Mooy
Brown and Kalyn Ponga will take home $1.3 million each, while centre Bradman Best is earning upwards of $700,000. That equates to almost 30 per cent of the club’s cap.
The Storm invested more than 30 per cent of their cap in Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater, but those three players were among the greatest to have played the game in the modern era.
The cap will rise to $11.55 million next season, but with just $8,250,000 left in the kitty once you remove Brown, Ponga and Best, that leaves an average $305,000 for the remaining 27 players. The average NRL salary is $375,000.
Most clubs carry anywhere from three to six players on the minimum wage, which rises to $145,000 next year. The Knights will inevitably have to carry more players at the lower end of the scale to balance the books.
They have up to 10 players without a deal for 2026.
A general rule at most clubs is your starting 13 are paid more than $400,000 each. The Knights knew all this before they chased Brown, but it will be tight.
“When clubs overextend themselves, players often pop out; expect rival clubs to target the Knights because they’ll have a massive turnover of good players who Newcastle might know are good, but also know they can no longer afford them,” one club source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The first thing a playmaker assesses when making the move to a rival club is how good is the forward pack? No halfback or five-eighth can work their magic if the team is not rolling downfield and giving the most important player time and space.
The Knights’ Jacob Saifiti charges into the Dolphins defence on Thursday night.Credit: Getty Images
The only recognised front-rower at the Knights is Jacob Saifiti. His twin brother, Daniel, joined the Dolphins this year because of cap pressure, while Leo Thompson is bound for Belmore next season.
There’s also Jack Hetherington, but he is off contract, and has averaged less than half an hour game time during the past two seasons. Brown might need to rely on a couple of rookies, including Will Sullivan, a Queensland Maroons under-19s prop expected to join the club in the coming weeks, and Australian Schoolboys forward Cody Hopwood, who is viewed as the best teenage middle forward in the country.
Brown will wear the New Zealand No.6 jersey for the next decade if he stays fit, with Melbourne’s Jahrome Hughes the Kiwis’ first-choice No.7.
Test football will become a permanent fixture at the end of the season, and with the Kiwis expected to play Tonga and Samoa this October, it means Brown is unlikely to start pre-season training with the Knights until the new year.
Any hopes of forging on-field chemistry with Ponga and Fletcher Sharpe will be delayed.
Manly can ill afford to lose Tom Trbojevic. Penrith cannot afford to lose Nathan Cleary, especially now Jarome Luai is no longer at the club. But the club that will be hit hardest should one of their key men break down with injury will be Newcastle.
What happens if Brown breaks down next year? Ditto, Ponga.
Will Dylan Brown’s signing help Newcastle retain superstar Kalyn Ponga.Credit: Getty Images
Sharpe is still learning his craft and is years away from being able to direct a team around the park. Jackson Hastings is out the door at the end of the season, while Jack Cogger becomes a free agent on November 1 and could be targeted by other clubs.
Who replaces Ponga if he gets injured is equally murky. David Armstrong did a nice job last year, but joined Leigh in the Super League, Will Pryce started a trial at the back, but is also without a contract beyond 2025, while Sharpe is capable, but why weaken one position to strengthen another?
Another thought is what happens in the extraordinary circumstance that Brown is forced to medically retire, and potentially early in his Newcastle deal. Brown’s money would be exempt from the cap, but the club will still need to initially pay out millions of dollars to any new recruit.
Playmakers and managers will now be readjusting their reserve price after Brown’s deal.
The monster contract will force Parramatta to dig deep into their pockets for a five-eighth replacement. That will inevitably force a club like Wests Tigers to pay top of the market rates to keep Lachie Galvin, who is firmly in the sights of the blue and golds.
Is Daly Cherry-Evans entitled to ask for more next year following Dylan Brown’s mega deal?Credit: Getty Images
Adam Reynolds and Daly Cherry-Evans – two of the best halfbacks in the game – are both off contract at the end of the year, but have already indicated they are keen to go around again. So what kind of deal will they ask for when it comes time to thrash out extensions with Brisbane and Manly respectively.
What about Nathan Cleary? What does the Brown deal do to his value? Cleary is happy to take a little under market value to keep the Penrith juggernaut rolling, but expect rivals to offer money that would make him the first $2 million-a-season player.
Ponga is off contract at the end of 2027 and the Knights would obviously love to keep him. The Sydney Roosters are a natural fit because they need someone to succeed skipper James Tedesco when he retires.
Rugby and the All Blacks probably pose a bigger threat to the Knights than Nick Politis’ chequebook, or another NRL club.
Newcastle recruitment chief Peter O’Sullivan told News Corp papers last month the key to keeping Ponga was building a premiership roster around him.
Signing Brown will certainly go a long way to doing that. Ponga and Brown are very alike in terms of their laid-back approach to life and ability to cope with the spotlight that shines brightly on players in a one-team town like Newcastle.
The chance to play with Ponga and now Brown is certainly going to appeal to players weighing up a move to the Hunter.
Players will take a little less if they know they are joining a team in a premiership window. This trend is the reason the strong teams are getting stronger and the struggling teams continue to do it tough.
Knowing Brown is hanging around for what most likely will be the remainder of his career, players will give a potential move to the Knights more thought. Wests Tigers have become more appealing to players off contract now Luai is on deck.
Fletcher Sharpe has impressed at five-eighth for Newcastle.Credit: Getty Images
By signing Brown for 10 years, the Knights have safeguarded themselves from raids from rival clubs, including the 18th and 19th NRL franchises about to enter the competition.
Papua New Guinea is already a confirmed starter for the 2028 season, and the tax concessions will be enough to lure one or two of the game’s top-liners.
Perth is also expected to get the green light, and poses an even bigger threat to clubs than PNG.
Clubs are concerned about Perth and whether they will join the competition as early as 2027, which puts more pressure on them to tie down their marquee players.
At least Newcastle can take heart knowing their halfback – and potentially their fullback – are off limits.
Brown will play halfback, but the fact he has spent the bulk of his career at five-eighth will go a long way to furthering the development of Fletcher Sharpe.
Knights officials are well aware of this, and look forward to seeing Brown take Sharpe under his wing, and giving him an education on the art of playing No.6.
Newcastle will ask plenty of questions in attack with Brown, Sharpe and Ponga in their line-up – especially if Best continues to be one of the premier centres in the game.
Test football might mean Brown does not arrive at Newcastle until the new year – which will delay his ability to work with Ponga and Sharpe – but it also means the Knights are not impacted during the State of Origin period by losing their new star.
Loading
Newcastle are all but certain to lose Ponga to Queensland, and possibly Dane Gagai, plus Best to NSW – and one day Sharpe to the Blues – which means Brown’s availability becomes even more vital for at least a game or two in the middle of the season.
Two or four competition points often determines if clubs play finals football.
Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.
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