The Newcastle Knights will reportedly make an enormous $6 million offer to lure Dylan Brown to the Hunter.
The star five-eighth, who is a New Zealand representative, has player options in his contract at the Eels from the start of 2026 through to the end of 2031.
In line with every other player off-contract at the end of 2025, he has been able to negotiate with rival clubs since November 1, and it has been confirmed he will be doing just that.
He has already been approached by a number of NRL clubs, and Rugby Australia could yet make a play for the star as well.
Whichever way he goes, his deal from 2026 will be worth at least $1 million per season, with the value of his Parramatta contract set to reach that number in 2026.
He has until Round 10 to inform the Eels whether he is taking up his player option or not, giving him just over three months to determine his future.
Fox Sports are reporting the Knights are the first team to throw a cat amongst the pigeons though, with a six-year deal potentially on the table for Brown worth a little over a million per year.
The Knights will only pursue the move if Brown indicates he is serious about moving to the Hunter.
It comes at an intriguing time for the Knights, who have made no secret of their own salary cap issues.
Those issues are starting to resolve themselves though following the departure of Daniel Saifiti to the Dolphins for 2025, and the fact all of Jayden Brailey, Adam Elliott, Jackson Hastings and Kai Pearce-Paul among a host of others are off-contract at the end of 2025, while Tyson Frizell and Dane Gagai have options in their deals and are no guarantee of hanging around beyond the end of the current season.
They do, however, have Kalyn Ponga contracted for the next three seasons, and while his attacking combination with Dylan Brown would be electric, any move for the New Zealander would see the Knights sinking up to $2.5 million per year into two players over a long-term period.
Whether Brown heads to the Hunter or not though, the Knights are clearly on the hunt for halves. Jackson Hastings, Jack Cogger, Will Pryce, Tyson Gamble and Phoenix Crossland are all in the mix to play there this year and will be joined by Fletcher Sharpe after their number six and seven jerseys resembled something of a revolving door under an uncertain Adam O'Brien in 2024.
If Brown does elect to stay with the Eels for the first of his two player options, he will be back in the same boat heading into the 2029 season, with the final three years of his current deal marking another player option.
