The Brandon Smith contract saga has finally reached its conclusion.
The Sydney Roosters have confirmed the signing of the New Zealand international star and Melbourne Storm hooker and lock forward on a three-year deal, which will see home relocate to Bondi Junction until at least the end of 2025.
He will complete the 2022 season at the Melbourne Storm, who previously confirmed he would exit the Victorian-based club at the end of the coming season.
Smith's contract situation has been highly publicised since November 1, when his agent Stan Martin sent a memo to all 16 clubs asking them to put their best bids forward.
By the end of November 1, numerous clubs had already submitted offers for Smith, indicating just how much of a target his signing was.
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Smith then went on a very public tour of the North Queensland Cowboys, Gold Coast Titans and Dolphins - who were reportedly almost certain they'd sign Smith.
That was until he visited the Roosters, with a podcast appearance the following week seeing him say he "wanted to win a premiership with the club," even though he still had a season to run on his current deal with the Storm.
Since then, it has been something of a waiting game with the club finally confirming the poorly-kept secret today, and the length of the contract, which will be a blessing for the tri-colours.
“We’re excited to announce the signing of Brandon to a three-year arrangement and look forward to welcoming him to the Club in 2023,” Daniel Anderson, who is the Roosters head of recruitment and junior player development, said in a statement.
It’s just amazing how as soon as most teams sign a player the amount is in every media report but whenever the Roosters re-sign someone like Manu (who reportedly was offered 1M a season to play “fullback” by the Warriors) or sign the most sought after player in Cheese there’s NO mention of how much they paid anywhere and no questions are asked.