Wests Tigers star Stefano Utoikamanu could become one of the club’s highest-paid players after the club formally ofered him a long-term, big-money extension.
The star prop, who is off-contract at the end of the 2025 season but has a clause which would allow him to leave at the end of this year, has been in talks with the Tigers in recent times, while other clubs have also reportedly been in talks with his management.
Those clauses would need to see Utoikamanu play two Origin games this year or the Tigers make the top eight to be negated.
But the Tigers, having heard of their star forward being in the sights of other clubs, are taking no chances on waiting until the end of the season to get the star – who was surprisingly overlooked for Game 1 of this year’s series – locked down.
The Tigers may well blow the other clubs out of the water financially though, with The Sydney Morning Herald reporting a $4 million, five-year deal has been put in front of the star middle.
It’s believed the Penrith Panthers were among the clubs set to make a play for Utoikamanu.
That deal would see the prop extend his time at the joint-venture through to at least the end of 2029, while he would be on approximately $800,000 per year.
As it stands, the game’s highest-paid forwards are Tino Fa’asuamaleaui of the Gold Coast Titans and Payne Haas at the Brisbane Broncos, with both players on approximately $1.2 million per year.
Only the likes of David Fifita, Addin Fonua-Blake, Harry Grant, James Fisher-Harris, Cameron Murray, Junior Paulo, Luciano Leilua, Jeremiah Nanai and Haumole Olakau’atu would remain as better-paid forwards if Utoikamanu inks the new deal with the Tigers.
The Tigers, who are in the process of rejigging their squad during their first season under Benji Marshall following back-to-back wooden spoons, have plenty of cash to play with, even after signing Jarome Luai on more than a million dollars per season from the start of 2025, while they also have Apisai Koroisau‘s big-money deal on their books.
The Tigers, on their part, want an answer from Utoikamanu sooner rather than later so they can begin planning for 2025 one way or another.
It’s understood he may well hold off until at least after selection for Origin 2 however, with the forwards potentially keen to explore his options on the open market given the lack of success at Concord.