Dylan Brown has informed teammates he intends to leave the Eels with the Parramatta playmaker poised to ink a massive $13 million deal with Newcastle.
This masthead can reveal Brown is on the verge of agreeing terms on a 10-year contract with the Knights in a bombshell move that will rip apart his scrumbase partnership with Eels halfback Mitchell Moses.
Newcastle are confident they have got their man - until the end of 2035 - with Brown to celebrate the richest deal in the NRL’s 117-year history.
Titans skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui signed a $12 million deal with the Gold Coast two years but Brown’s impending move to Newcastle from 2026 will make him the richest contract holder in rugby league.
It is understood Brown has told teammates he won’t be at Parramatta next season in a crippling blow to the Eels following Sunday’s 56-18 thrashing against the Storm.
The Eels were hoping to retain Brown on his existing nine-year deal, laced with two get-out clauses, but the Knights’ offer is simply too good to refuse.
Only an eleventh-hour change of heart will stop Brown leaving, with the Eels pivot having a 10-day cooling off period to renege on a move to Newcastle.
Brown has not formally inked a Knights deal at this stage, but Newcastle bosses are confident the Kiwi Test pivot will formalise his future in the coming days.
Newcastle’s impending poaching of Brown is a huge coup for the Knights as the club looks to give superstar fullback Kalyn Ponga a classy partner-in-crime in the club’s quest to snap a 24-year title drought.
rown faces giving up an estimated $6.4 million by rejecting Newcastle’s offer and the $1.3 million offer from the Knights will be enough to seal the Kiwi’s mega defection.
Brown is happy at Parramatta - and the initial sentiment was that he would lean towards staying - but the magnitude of the rival offers has stunned the Eels pivot and given him food for thought.
In the wake of Parramatta’s grand-final campaign in 2022, Brown signed a long-term extension until the end of 2031, albeit with a series of clauses that allowed him to explore the market.
The Eels are fighting hard to retain Brown.
It’s understood they have been given the opportunity to match the 10-year deals put forward by the Knights and a second club, but Parramatta bosses are happy to stick to their original deal.
The remainder of Brown’s Eels contract is worth around $6.6 million.
The Kiwi World Cup star can ostensibly double his earnings by inking a lifetime $13m Knights deal until the end of 2035.
Brown has until round 10 to make a decision but the veteran of 123 NRL games is ready to make a definitive call now.
The $1.3 million-a-season deals will see Brown join Newcastle champion Ponga ($1.4m), Penrith’s Nathan Cleary ($1.3m) and Storm’s Cameron Munster ($1.3m) as the highest-paid players in the code.
Brown would also usurp the $1.25m-a-season earned by Eels halves partner Mitchell Moses, who earlier this month appealed for his scrumbase cohort to keep the faith.
“That’s up to Dyl, I hope he stays, I love him, I love him to death,” Moses said.
“I feel like I play my best footy with Dylan. That’s a decision he’s going to have to make in due course.
“It’s up to him, you (have to) give him as much time as he wants.”
