Ben Hunt no guarantee to be offered new deal in Brisbane

The Brisbane Broncos are yet to determine whether they will offer veteran Ben Hunt a new deal or not beyond the end of 2026.

Hunt joined the Broncos ahead of the 2025 NRL season on a two-year deal after being released by the St George Illawarra Dragons, and has gone back and forth on the idea of playing on beyond the end of 2026.

While previous comments indicated he was indeed considering looking for an extra year, he admitted in January that a tough pre-season had him re-considering, although his decision won't be made anytime soon, suggesting that, if the body feels alright later in the year, he will look to continue past 2026.

His decision may be made up for him though, with the Broncos yet to determine whether he will be offered a new deal per a Wide World of Sports report.

Brisbane have an over abundance of players in Hunt's two positions, the halves and hooker.

Jonah Pezet's arrival in 2027 will offset the departure to retirement of Adam Reynolds, while Ezra Mam will continue at five-eighth. The club also have Tom Duffy and Josh Rogers in their system.

At hooker, Billy Walters and Cory Paix are both in the system, while the club will need to find a way to get Blake Mozer gametime both this year and next year if they want the man regarded as the best junior dummy half since Cameron Smith to remain a Bronco.

It could leave Hunt staring down the barrel of both a positional and salary cap crunch.

A source told the publication that fitness and form would likely determine whether Hunt gets offered a new deal or not, but it's clear there are more factors at play, with the salary cap also clamping hard on Brisbane.

The Red Hill-based club have mega deals out for Reece Walsh, Kotoni Staggs, Ezra Mam and Patrick Carrigan at the top of the tree, but have also offered significant money for Mitch Barnett to become Payne Haas' replacement, while all talk has been that they will ultimately lose Origin player Gehamat Shibasaki to salary cap pressures at the end of the year.