The South Sydney Rabbitohs are understood to have 'lowballed' Cody Walker heading into the 2027 season.
The five-eighth, who surely only had one season left at most, wants to play on, but question marks have been flowing for some weeks now.
As long as two or three months ago, it had been rumoured that Walker was on the verge of re-signing. All the noise from his camp, and indeed those in charge at South Sydney, is that a deal is more likely to happen than not.
It was believed the hold up in it actually being confirmed was down to the simple fact Walker hadn't decided whether he was going to play on or not.
His injury history isn't exactly something that would fill either he or the club with confidence, although 2026 was a strong campaign where he managed 24 games, only breaking down during the losing elimination final against the Newcastle Knights a fortnight ago.
In truth, Walker's injury issues are overplayed - he has played more than 20 games in every year of his career with the exception of 2025.
But the truth of the matter is he is 36, and will be 37 by the time the first ball is kicked next year, so it's not a surprise to see the Rabbitohs handling the nature of his contract negotiation at a snail's pace, and with a fair amount of trepidation.
And so it appears money, not whether Walker wants to play on, is actually behind the seemingly never-ending cycle of "he is about to sign" without any actual confirmation.
According to the latest episode of Fanatics TV with James Hooper and special guest Buzz Rothfield, the Rabbitohs have offered Walker just $300,000 to play on in 2027.
That, if you believe the rumour mill, has been met with a fair amount of angst from the Walker camp, who are weighing up his options.
From the Rabbitohs side, they had no real choice around what to actually offer Walker.
A pay cut was inevitable. Maybe one this size was unexpected, but South Sydney are dealing with an exceptionally tight salary cap moving forward following the signing earlier this year of Payne Haas, and the upcoming need to upgrade a host of youngsters.
The club who also have Jack Wighton as a ready-made replacement in the number six jumper that would free up a spot for said young players in the outside backs, adding to the reasons not to overpay for Walker.
With Latrell Mitchell also now seemingly about to hit the open market, and the club believed to have paused other long-term contract projects until they work out the future of Mitchell and indeed Tallis Duncan, the Rabbitohs wiggle room on the books is severely limited.
But they also know they have Walker at something of a disadvantage.
The five-eighth doesn't have a deal for next year, and it's difficult to see any other clubs in the competition lining up to sign a 37-year-old for a one-year run before he heads off into retirement, and likely, back to the Rabbitohs where he will coach.
That in itself would make it tough for Walker to consider leaving if he did want to play on.
This is a guy who bleeds Rabbitohs, and has played every single one of his 247 NRL games for the outfit since debuting in 2016.
He has his future after playing sorted at the club, to the point moving away for one last season and payday actually wouldn't make any sense.
Sure, Walker could probably find a contract in England for a year, but chances are he has no interest in moving his family halfway around the world for 12 months.
South Sydney have Walker where they need, and most likely want, him, across numerous factors.
If Walker plays next year, it's based out of Maroubra, and on very little in the way of money given what he is probably actually worth.
Unfortunately for Walker, this time, that is how the cards have fallen.
The only question now is whether he wants to finish his career as a Rabbitoh in 2026, or 2027.
