Jarome Luai has dropped a massive indication that he might be leaving the Panthers after a telling social media move on Thursday. The three-time premiership winner posted an anime-style image of himself on Instagram with the caption “know your worth”, accompanying the post with the 50 Cent song ‘Hustler’s Ambition’ from the film ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’.
The fact that the five-eighth made three references to money could be bad news for the Panthers, who can reportedly only offer Luai a new two-year deal worth $850,000 per season due to salary cap pressures. Luai is officially a free agent as of November 1 and is free to negotiate with rival clubs for the 2025 season.
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He is still under contract at Penrith for 2024, but is facing a big pay cut if he wants to stay at the club beyond that. Rival clubs will be able to offer Luai as much as $1.1 million per season, meaning he will have to decide between success and familiarity, or money.
Discussing the situation on Wednesday, Panthe
“I think that’s that’s the biggest thing at play here,” Cleary said. “If any club wants to (offer) the money, we’re talking, probably the money that he may consider leaving (for), it would have to be for that kind of role.
“Is he ready for that? That’s a question mark. Could he do it? I’m sure he can do it. Has he done it? No, he hasn’t. He’s done a little bit with Samoa of course at last year’s World Cup.
“But generally speaking, in this team he’s had his role to play. So it would be slightly different. So I guess that’s a risk that everyone would have to take.”
