It has been revealed that the Melbourne Storm had offered a lifetime contract to Tino Fa'asuamaleaui before he officially elected to re-sign with the Gold Coast Titans.
The Titans dropped the incredible news last Friday evening that Fa'asuamaleaui - already their club captain - had re-signed for the next decade, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2033 campaign.
The deal, reportedly worth $12 million, is the richest in rugby league history, topping the only other ten-year deal signed in the history of the code, belonging to Jason Taumalolo at the North Queensland Cowboys.
While his form is not the same as it may have been when he originally signed the deal, the Cowboys have for the most part gotten value out of the deal.
Fa'asuamaleaui, who has already played for Queensland at State of Origin level and Australia at international level, has quickly become one of the best middle forwards in the game, and it led to his debut club the Melbourne Storm showing interest.
That interest, according to News Corp, was a lifetime deal that would have seen Fa'asuamaleaui return to the Victorian capital for the next ten years, and forced the Titans to match the offer for their star who they originally took off the Storm.
The Storm are on the lookout for another top-tier prop, having lost a bundle of experience in the engine room at the end of the 2022 campaign with the loss of Brandon Smith to the Sydney Roosters, and representative trio Jesse Bromwich, Kenneath Bromwich and Felise Kaufusi to the Dolphins.
Melbourne, who will likely also be looking for a new coach at the end of the 2024 season with Craig Bellamy on a year-to-year basis in his role at the moment, have also shown significant interest in Payne Haas.
It's believed that if he is still off-contract on November 1, the Victorian club will make a significant play for the Broncos' star, who has reportedly indicated that he only wants to play at clubs in contention for a premiership.