NRL Editorial and Opinion

Top ten worst NRL contracts in recent history

What do you think was the worst deal?

Published by
Dan Nichols

My general rule on these pages it to try and keep it positive.

Best signings, top prospects, top ten players in each position, future household names.

Today we take a trip to the dark side. Let's face it, people love the negativity. I guarantee the comments will double that of the positive lists I posted last week. Check the stats.

Please take this list with a grain of salt, it's supposed to be fun. No player on this list is going to care what I think. They all laughed their way to the bank.

We also don't have access to contracts and can only go off what has been widely reported.

Please keep in mind that is not a list of worst signings. Some were/are great signings. Just that their contracts don't represent great value.

With that said, below are ten of the worst deals in NRL history:

Dishonourable Mentions: Jordan Atkins, Adam Cuthbertson, Chad Townsend, Anthony Tupou, Tony Williams

Dylan Brown - Newcastle Knights

At the time of preparing this, the Dylan Brown deal isn't yet officially official. Judging by the Knights fanbase collective reaction, they hope it never is.

Dylan Brown is super talented. If this was a three-year deal, I could get behind it.

Ten years though? This is the biggest panic buy in recent memory. Ten years, $1.3 million a season (reportedly) for a player who oversaw his side to great heights of 15th last season?

Anything less than three Premierships in the next ten years renders this one of the all-time NRL contract clangers.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 06: Dylan Brown of the Eels warms up prior to the round 27 NRL match between Wests Tigers and Parramatta Eels at Campbelltown Stadium, on September 06, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images)

Matt Orford - Canberra Raiders

Matt Orford is a player who does not get anywhere near the credit he deserves.

A Dally M medalist, a Premiership player and someone who very well could have had a few Origin series under his belt, he's hugely underrated.

Those accolades are why the Raiders were so happy to sign him back in 2011. It looked as though he would be lost to the Super League after a glittering run at both Melbourne and Manly.

Unfortunately, his three-year deal lasted just one, for a return of six underwhelming games before he was released. It was a real shame for Raiders and Orford fans.

SYDNEY, NSW - APRIL 15: Matt Orford of the Sea Eagles looks to pass during the round six NRL match between the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the St George Illawarra Dragons played at Brookvale Oval April 15, 2006 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Tevita Pangai Junior - Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs/Josh Schuster - Manly Sea Eagles

I'll group these two together as they're similar. They'd both be much higher if each club hadn't managed to wiggle their way out early.

Josh Shuster signed a multi year contract with $800,000 a season despite never really nailing down a spot, or preferred position.

Manly couldn't escape this contract quickly enough. They were forced to pay him out to move him on. Shuster has since linked with Souths in hopes of reviving a much hyped NRL career.

Pangai Jr signed a monster three-year deal at the Dogs. His first season, despite an Origin appearance, was so average that the club actively let him retire, box then return.

Any other situation would have seen the club scream murder should a player have "retired" then gone back on his word so quickly.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 07: Josh Schuster of the Rabbitohs looks on during the round one NRL match between the Dolphins and South Sydney Rabbitohs at CommBank Stadium on March 07, 2025, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

Karl Filiga - Cronulla Sharks

Sharks fans celebrated as they won the race to sign the man dubbed "the next Sonny Bill Williams".

The contract, in today's terms, won't compare to many on this list but at the time it was massive, especially considering the every day fan only knew of Filiga due to his manager's comparison to SBW.

Filiga would play once for the Sharks, an 11-minute cameo. The Sharks paid the youngster an estimated $20,000 per minute of NRL action.

Given the hype of this signing, the contract at the time and the value ... Sharks fans hate when you bring this up, and rightfully so.

Kade Snowden - Newcastle Knights

This places so highly due to the extreme lengths Newcastle went to in order to secure the Origin and Kangaroo prop.

After announcing a massive re-signing with the Sharks, Snowden backed out of the deal while en route to the press conference called to celebrate his new Sharks deal.

This was the Nathan Tinkler era at the Knights where money was no issue. I don't blame Snowden for taking the call, nor accepting the mega deal on offer from his junior club.

Value-wise, Snowden never showed the form that saw him picked twice for the Blues. Injuries hurt his career, but ultimately, his time in Newcastle, much like Tinkler's tenure, was pretty grim.

NEWCASTLE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 18: Kade Snowden of the Knights runs the ball during the round 19 NRL match between the Newcastle Knights and the Gold Coast Titans at Hunter Stadium on July 18, 2015 in Newcastle, Australia. (Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)

William Zillman - Gold Coast Titans

This is a tough one to compile as I was a huge fan of William Zillman "back in the day".

That said, the fact he was one of the first to sign a five-year deal, on more than decent money, will soon be a fact lost to time.

Zillman was, at times, absolutely brilliant. Unfortunately injuries limited his run of games and he was never able to fulfil his potential.

Contracts were a little bit different back then in that you couldn't just end them whenever you want (a shot at todays contracts) so the Titans were forced to cop the full five years.

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA - MAY 08: William Zillman of the Titans passes the ball during the round nine NRL match between the Gold Coast Titans and the Warriors at Skilled Park on May 8, 2011 on the Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

Chris Sandow - Parramatta Eels

Chris Sandow broke the hearts of Souths fans when he signed a four year deal with the Eels.

Again, the money won't look huge compared to the deals on offer now but he was on a reported $600,000 per season. At the time, that was not to be laughed at.

Sandow was seen as the man who would finally return the Eels number seven jersey, once worn by legend Peter Sterling, to its former glory.

Safe to say that didn't happen. The aforementioned Sterling even stated at one time that Sandow should never wear the Eels jersey again. Ouch!

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 15: Chris Sandow of the Rabbitohs celebrates scoring a try during the round one NRL match between the Sydney Roosters and the South Sydney Rabbitohs at the Sydney Football Stadium on March 15, 2009 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Kieran Foran - Parramatta Eels

OK now we are very much in the big money.

Kieran Foran, a Premiership winner and rusted on Kiwis starter, did the unthinkable when he left Manly for Parramatta. His deal was worth over a million dollars a season.

I don't want to go into details on what went wrong here but Foran was not able to deliver anywhere near the value of his mega deal.

Foran has since become one of the more positive stories during his time at the Titans.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 18: Kieran Foran of the Eels looks on during the round three NRL match between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the Parramatta Eels at ANZ Stadium on March 18, 2016 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Ashley Taylor - Gold Coast Titans

Ash Taylor was once the talk of the rugby league town.

He won the Dally M Rookie of the Year award in his first season for the Titans after moving slightly south from the Broncos.

A huge war between the clubs, both of whom saw Taylor as they long-term seven, ended when Taylor signed a three million dollar deal with the Titans.

Million dollar halves weren't the norm back then (as they are now). This just flat chat did not work for a multitude of reasons.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MAY 24: Ashley Taylor of the Titans kicks the ball in the warm up during the round 11 NRL match between the Manly Sea Eagles and the Gold Coast Titans at Lottoland on May 24, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)

Jamal Idris - Gold Coast Titans

At the time, the Gold Coast Titans looked to have pulled off an almighty signing coup in announcing Jamal Idris had signed a five-year deal with the club.

The NSW Origin centre was in hot demand and was set to become the face of rugby league on the holiday strip.

People laugh now but at the time Idris was a huge deal. The Titans were looking for a new star and they landed their man. For five years no less.

Two years later he was released to play for Penrith having made 35 appearances for nine tries.

Given the fanfare, length of the contract and the lack of return the Titans received, you'd have to go a long way to find anyone who remembers this contract in a positive light.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 06: Jamal Idris of the Panthers looks on during the round five NRL match between the Penrith Panthers and the North Queensland Cowboys at Pepper Stadium on April 6, 2015 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Published by
Dan Nichols