🚨 Rebel Rugby Postponement Leaves Star Prop Ready for New Broncos Deal
The Brisbane Broncos have received a monumental boost in their bid to retain superstar forward Payne Haas following the shock two-year postponement of the rebel rugby competition, R360. Organisers of the unsanctioned league, which was slated to launch in October next year, informed player agents late Friday night that the inaugural edition has been pushed back until 2028. This major setback immediately puts the NRL club in pole position to secure their generational talent.
The decision has cast fresh doubt over the viability of the entire R360 project, with widespread speculation pointing to difficulties in acquiring sufficient financial backing and players to meet their ambitious 2026 deadline. R360 board member and former England rugby star Mike Tindall attempted to frame the delay as a “strategic decision based on timing,” claiming that launching prematurely would not meet the project’s high standards.
Haas’s $5 Million Cross-Code Temptation Vanishes
The postponement is directly beneficial to the Broncos, who faced the real possibility of losing Haas to a staggering financial offer. The superstar prop was reportedly weighing up a deal from R360 worth $3 million per season. With attractive tax incentives factored in, that deal was estimated to be the equivalent of earning $5 million for one season in the NRL.
With the R360 threat now effectively neutralized, the Broncos are ready to capitalize. The club has offered Haas a contract extension worth around $1.2 million a season, a figure that, while significantly lower than the rebel league’s offer, is highly competitive within the National Rugby League.
Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy had previously adopted a patient approach, stating the club would give Haas the time he needed to make a call on his future. However, his strong desire to keep the premiership winner was clear: “We’ll let him have a bit of a break and when he comes up for air we’ll get back in contact and start working that through. But hopefully he stays… it would feel wrong for him not to be a Bronco.”
The Lomax Limbo: Contract Uncertainty Mounts
While the news is a massive relief for the Broncos, it creates significant turmoil for players who had already committed to the R360 project. Most prominently, the future of former Parramatta Eels star Zac Lomax is now “in limbo.” Lomax was granted a release from his NRL contract to pursue the R360 opportunity, and the two-year delay leaves him without a top-tier professional club until at least 2028 unless his previous club or the NRL grants him a special waiver.
The R360 setback essentially removes the most significant threat to the NRL’s elite talent pool and leaves the Brisbane Broncos as the firm favorite to retain their franchise player. The highly anticipated contract decision for Payne Haas is now looking “increasingly more likely” to keep him at the club to help build their “new dynasty.”