The NRL might be about to switch attention to players off-contract at the end of 2025 from the November 1 deadline, but the Sydney Roosters have sent a shockwave through the competition by reportedly telling star prop Terrell May he is free to leave immediately.
May only re-signed with the Roosters in April of this year and has two years to run on his current deal.
He is due to be a Roosters player until at least the end of 2026.
The prop, who has played 53 NRL games, made the switch to the Sydney Roosters ahead of the 2022 season where he made his NRL debut, having originally been in the Penrith Panthers' system.
2024 was his best season to date, playing 27 games, predominantly off the interchange bench where he brought plenty of aggression to finish the year with 110 metres per game, 40 offloads, 64 tackle busts and a tackle efficiency of almost 98 per cent.
But The Sydney Morning Herald are now reporting he has been asked by the Roosters to find a new club for 2025, with the tri-colours looking to clear salary cap space to make a full scale tilt on the transfer market for 2026 and beyond.
It's also being reported that Roosters powerbrokers don't believe May is the correct fit for the vision of the club.
May, who is one of the competition's most impactful players, is believed to be on a little over $500,000 per year, and the Roosters are understood to already have plenty of salary cap space following a number of departures this off-season, including Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Luke Keary, Joseph Suaalii and Joseph Manu.
There are also few elite props heading to November 1, which will undoubtedly raise some eyebrows around the competition and with Roosters' fans.
The Roosters, should May depart, will likely have increased roles for Naufahu Whyte, as well as De La Salle Va'a who moves onto a Top 30 deal this year.
It's believed the Canterbury Bulldogs, St George Illawarra Dragons and Wests Tigers could emerge as the early front runners for his services, although the three May brothers have made it clear previously they want to play in the same team.