Advertisement

Reece Walsh's $6 million contract called into question amid dramas engulfing Brisbane Broncos

The young fullback is set to garner around $1.2 million per season in a new deal with the Broncos.

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·5-min read

Questions have emerged about whether the Brisbane Broncos can afford to pay Reece Walsh the reported $6 million he'll get when he signs a lucrative contract extension with the club. Now that the Broncos' disastrous season is officially over, the club will look to finalise a new deal for their young fullback before he hits the open market on November 1.

Walsh reportedly agreed to stay at the Broncos way back in March, but the new contract is yet to be finalised. Some have suggested Walsh has held off putting pen to paper in the hope his value would go up even more in 2024, after a breakout year last season.

Reece Walsh with his young daughter.
Reece Walsh is looking at a life-changing $6 million deal for him and his daughter. Image: AAP/Getty

But 2024 has been nothing short of a disaster for Walsh and the Broncos, and it might hit him in the hip pocket. Walsh has only managed to play 14 games for Brisbane this season due to various injuries, and wasn't as dominant for Queensland in State of Origin as he was in 2023.

He was knocked out in the opening minutes of Game 1 and never looked like his normal self for the rest of the series. He's missed a multitude of games for the Broncos due to injuries, but even when on the park he hasn't managed to spark his teammates the way he did on their run to the grand final last year.

With the Broncos missing out on playing finals footy for the third time in the last four years, questions are now being asked about what it means for Walsh's new deal. Some have suggested his disappointing year may have diminished his value somewhat, and many don't believe the Broncos can afford to pay him the reported $1.2 million per season he's thought to be asking.

Reece Walsh, pictured here during a Brisbane Broncos game.
Reece Walsh looks on during a Brisbane Broncos game. (AAP Image/Jason O'Brien)

The 2024 season has highlighted the need for the Broncos to add some starch to their forward pack, but will there be enough money once Walsh garners a new $6 million deal? Outside of Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan, the Broncos are seriously lacking in their forwards.

And they've already told up-and-coming youngster Kobe Hetherington he's free to look elsewhere. The 25-year-old son of former Queensland and Bulldogs star Jason Hetherington is on contract with the Broncos until the end of 2025, but is set to leave a year early.

"The Broncos have given Kobe permission to talk to other clubs but they also want a suitable replacement for him," Hetherington's manager Chris Haddad told AAP on Tuesday. "Kobe is a starting player and he wants to start somewhere. He loves Kevvie as a coach and as a bloke and he loves the Broncos. The Broncos don't want to lose him and if they had a starting spot for him he would stay."

RELATED:

Corey Oates is also set to leave the club after not being offered a new deal, while gun outside backs Kotoni Staggs and Selwyn Cobbo are facing the prospect of having to take pay cuts if they want to stay. With Walsh, Haas, Carrigan and Ezra Mam all on big money deals, the likes of Staggs and Cobbo might have to look elsewhere to get paid what they're worth.

It all comes back to the fact Walsh is set to take up a huge portion of the Broncos' salary cap, but what effect will it have on the club long-term if they can't afford to keep other players? Coach Kevin Walters has already seen Walsh leave the club once (to join the Warriors in 2021) and he's desperate not to let it happen again.

He previously said about Staggs and Cobbo: "They are both going to demand a lot of money, but what we need to do is find a compromise with both those players where they are staying here and playing in a great side and a great club, and taking a little bit less money possibly, but staying here and being successful. Kotoni is a Bronco to the bone and so is Selwyn. That's the target, to keep both. That's what I want to do as the coach. It is going to be difficult, but rugby league is difficult. We've got to find a way."