$1.2 million here. $800,000 there. $600,000 over there.
The PNG Chiefs are building an elite backline for their inaugural season in the NRL; there can really be no doubt.
Concerns will be raised over the age of the players they have signed, but Brian To'o is one of the greatest wingers of all time, Alex Johnston is the greatest winger of all time, Zac Lomax was on a superstar trajectory before blowing up his contract with the Parramatta Eels, and Joseph Manu is a serious talent.
Jarome Luai is also an Origin and international player, even if his form hasn't been what it needs to be at the Wests Tigers since he officially put pen to paper on the deal, which saw him become the foundation player in Port Moresby.
On paper, the Chiefs are a good back - probably a fullback and a halfback away from having one of the best back sevens ever assembled.
If you listen to the rumour mill, it could well be that Gold Coast Titans likely escapee AJ Brimson and either Nathan Cleary or Sam Walker will make the move north.
Brimson won't come cheap, but he will be pocket change compared to what the club would have to pay to entice either Walker, who apparently has asked for a staggering $1.7 million per year from the Roosters, or Cleary, who is a seven-figure player and then some.
For all the waxing lyrical about how unfair it all is that the Chiefs have tax-free exemptions and can sign whoever they want, they are actually still only able to spend as much money as everyone else.
It's just that the money feels heavier in the player's pocket because they won't be taxed on it.
Maybe they can get away with offering players slightly less, but it's not as if they can go out and sign 30 players on seven-figure deals.
The NRL's official operations manual suggests the salary cap is climbing to $12.1 million next year, and while there has been talk of a cap totalling $15 million come the year 2028 when the new TV deal - which was an Australian sporting record when signed earlier this year - no official number has yet been published by the NRL.
Even if it does go to $15 million, it's a very safe bet to assume the standard ratchet clauses, which allow players' salaries to rise in line with the percentage increase of the salary cap, have been included.
If the cap rises to $15 million, that is a nearly 25 per cent increase on the figure that will be in play during 2027, meaning all the players they have signed will see the same increase.
It's a relatively safe bet to assume they have already spent a significant chunk of their salary cap on the players signed.
Lomax and Manu are both rumoured to be on about $800,000, To'o about $600,000, and Luai a tick over a million.
Matty Lees and Connor Watson, the only two forwards signed to date, will be on far less, and Alex Johnston has reportedly signed for $325,000 as he heads to Port Moresby for a year to close out his playing career.
But even considering the suggested values for Luai, To'o, Lomax and Manu, that is over $3.2 million in salary cap space gone.
About a quarter of what they are allowed to spend.
Maybe adding Brimson and Cleary for a little more than $2 million combined is also worth it to complete a backline that will rival the likes of the Dolphins, who can score points at a productive rate.
And maybe the players are worth it, but they certainly won't be if they can't secure a decent forward pack.
Because if they are to sign Brimson and Cleary, that will leave a little over half of the salary cap to sign virtually the entire forward pack.
A dummy half, a lock forward, a couple of second-rowers, a couple of props, and the entire back-up brigade in the Top 30.
The suggestion is that not only would the Chiefs have a significant risk by the age of players in the backline, but their depth may not be up to scratch come their first competitive game in the NRL.
All the talk this week is that Hudson Young will be allowed by the Raiders to tour facilities, and could become their star on the edge, but then that's another million or so dollars gone. The Raiders have already offered Young $1.1 million in an attempt to retain him for 2028 and beyond.
The Chiefs have very smart operators at the top of their football department, and needed marquee recruits early to legitimise what is the most audacious risk in rugby league history.
But that doesn't mean it's all going to be smooth sailing ahead of the playing group's arrival in Port Moresby at the end of 2027.
The new race for the Chiefs is one against the dollars and cents.
They will need to start counting them very carefully.
