Jarome Luai is no guarantee of being at the Tigers beyond the end of 2026.
That is the shock development that has ripped through the club this week, with a previously undiscovered contract clause being revealed.
The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that, despite signing a five-year deal with the Tigers, the club never announced that the final three years of that deal take the shape of a player option in Luai's favour.
It means Luai is free to leave the Tigers at the end of the 2026 campaign, and, as a result, will be free to negotiate with every other rival club in the competition, as with every player off-contract at the end of 2026, from November 1, 2025.
It's also understood that the player option is a one-year-at-a-time prospect, rather than the five-eighth potentially taking all three years in one go.
Justin Pascoe reportedly knocked back the idea of player options originally. However, his replacement, Shane Richardson, inserted them into Luai's contract to get the deal over the line.
It's a stunning development that has the potential to hit the Tigers' rebuild for six.
Luai is the prized recruit for 2025 and the biggest the club has had in some time. Luai, who has played in four straight premierships at the foot of the mountains, will move to the Tigers with a mountain of pressure on his back.
Instead of predominantly wearing the number six in a halves combination with Nathan Cleary, Luai will move into the number seven jersey and attempt to steer the Tigers off the bottom of the table for the first time in several years.
It's a role Luai played plenty of throughout 2024 with Cleary injured, but doing it in a system that has been glued to the bottom of the table instead of one used to winning, will be the ultimate challenge for the New South Wales Blues and Samoan international representative.
In what has been a tumultuous period for the Tigers, the club have sacked both Michael Maguire and Tim Sheens, with Benji Marshall taking over a year ahead of schedule in 2024.
As he prepares for his second year as head coach, the Tigers have flipped their roster, with Luai's signing joined by that of Penrith teammate Sunia Turuva, Jack Bird from the St George Illawarra Dragons, Royce Hunt from the Cronulla Sharks, Jeral Skelton from the Canterbury Bulldogs, and maybe most importantly, the recent addition of Terrell May from the Sydney Roosters.
But there is now real pressure on the Tigers to generate results in 2025.
Despite his enormous pay packet, there is little doubt Luai wants to play for a winner. He is used to it, and has done so for his whole career.
There is a very real chance now with this player option revelation that should the joint-venture club struggle throughout 2024, Luai could well opt to leave Concord after just two seasons at the club.
The other issue for the Tigers, who won the race for Luai by offering a reported $1.2 million per year over the five-year term, is that Lachlan Galvin is coming off-contract at the end of 2026 as well.
His future has been clouded in recent times, and could be more so by the fact Luai adds to the competition for spots in the halves, with the Tigers yet to determine who will partner Luai.
Galvin may be the front-runner, but it's also clear Latu Fainu hasn't been signed to play reserve grade for the next three seasons, with the former Manly Sea Eagles' junior's deal expiring at the end of 2027.
