The Penrith Panthers have reportedly re-signed forward Liam Martin to a long-term deal.
Martin added a year to his existing contract late last year to ensure he would remain at the Panthers until at least the end of the 2024 season, but would have become a free agent again on November 1 this year to negotiate for the 2025 season and beyond.
The Panthers, who have spent considerable money in other parts of their roster, are believed to be in negotiations with Martin, as well as star fullback Dylan Edwards, while five-eighth Jarome Luai's future is also up in the air.
All three are off-contract at the end of 2024, while Matt Eisenhuth, Luke Garner, Zac Hosking, Mitch Kenny, Lindsay Smith and Sunia Turuva, as well as the recently signed Wests Tigers fullback Daine Laurie are also able to negotiate with other clubs from November 1 ahead of their contracts expiring at the end of next year.
It's believed the Panthers are in a tight salary cap situation and that Luai may be the casualty with the likes of Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo and James Fisher-Harris on big-money deals.
News Corp are reporting Martin will be the next Origin-calibre player to be locked up though on what is believed to a three-year deal that would keep him at the foot of the mountains until at least the end of 2027.
It's believed the Panthers were always keen on not allowing Martin to test his value on the free agency market, having originally wanted to lock him down to a long-term deal at this time last year before he elected to add a single season to his time within Ivan Cleary's side.
According to the report, the deal for Martin will be artound $800,000 per season, seeing a major upgrade from his previous deal.
At least four other NRL clubs were believed to have expressed interest in Martin prior to his decision to re-sign with a deal reportedly set to be locked in by the club on Thursday.
Martin, who played Origin this year, is approaching 100 games in the NRL, had played nine State of Origins for the Blues and another handful of Tests for the Kangaroos.