Parramatta Eels five-eighth Dylan Brown will field offers for 2026 and beyond as he contemplates his future.
It's a major blow for the blue and gold, with their strategy of contract options yet again backfiring.
Brown will make a call on whether he is remaining with the Eels or not for the first of two player options included in his deal until the end of 2031 by the end of Round 10, but in the meantime, there will be plenty of conjecture following the New Zealand international around.
It's the last thing rookie coach Jason Ryles needs as he looks to turn Brad Arthur's old team into a finals team after they slumped to the wrong end of the table last year.
Described by his agent as a 'franchise player' in an email to all 16 other clubs, there will be plenty at least weighing up their options when it comes to making a play for Brown ahead of the 2026 campaign.
Here is where each rival NRL club is likely to sit in the chase for Brown.
4. New Zealand Warriors
This might be as much of a case of the player wanting the club as the club wanting him.
Everything seemed to be rosy in 2023 for the Warriors as they went all the way to the preliminary finals, but it's fair to say 2024 didn't bring as much success, with the club missing September action.
Inconsistency has been something of a trademark for the Warriors over their journey, but signings like Brown have the potential to provide some year-on-year stability. Certainly, Andrew Webster as coach was looking as if he could be the man to provide it, and luck on the injury front didn't go the way of the Auckland-based club last year.
In the halves department, Shaun Johnson has already retired, Tanah Boyd who signed over the off-season has only a mutual option for 2026, Chanel Harris-Tavita is in the same boat, Te Maire Martin is off-contract at the end of the coming season and Luke Metcalf is contracted for 2026.
Metcalf is viewed as the only player - when fit - locked into a halves spot at the Warriors. They could well chase Brown to partner him.
