Penrith Panthers star Jarome Luai could attract offers of more than $1 million per season once November 1 hits.

Under tightened NRL rules within the new collective bargaining agreement which was signed off between the NRL and Rugby League Players Association earlier this year, clubs are unable to make contact or negotiate with players or agents until November 1 hits.

But that deadline is now closing in for Luai, who seems unlikely to sign his future away to Penrith prior to the deadline.

The internal news out of Penrith, particularly from halves partner Nathan Cleary and coach Ivan Cleary has been that he will re-sign, but waiting for a new manager to be able to negotiate has pushed things perilously close to the November deadline for the Panthers, who are understood to be desperate to re-sign the State of Origin five-eighth.

As Luai works through returning from a shoulder injury that he sustained in the final weeks of the season, he will have a mammoth decision to make over his future, and News Corp journalist Michael Carayannis believes the difference between what the Panthers are able to offer under a tight salary cap, against that of another club, could reach $300,000 per season.

“His situation at Penrith is that he could get $300k more on the open market per year... He could demand in excess of $1 million a year at another club,” Carayannis said on SEN Radio.

“It's a lot of money to leave on the table so Jarome will have the most interesting conversation around his future.

“There is that stigma around Jarome in that if you take him out of that Penrith system, how good does he look? That's the same for a lot of those Penrith players but I still think he would easily get over $1 million on the open market.”

It comes with Penrith already having a number of big-money deals clogging up their cap, including those for Nathan Cleary, Dylan Edwards, James Fisher-Harris and Isaah Yeo.

The market for off-contract quality halves is skinny, with a number re-signing with their current clubs in the last 12 months including Ben Hunt, Cameron Munster and Mitchell Moses, which could well push Luai's value into seven figures.