Willie Mason knows a thing or two about rugby league contracts.
The giant prop played for no less than seven clubs during his 16-year professional rugby league career in Australia and abroad.
So it’s worth listening to his blunt message for Jarome Luai, the Panthers star involved in the most talked about, drawn out contract saga in the NRL.
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Speculation raged throughout the 2023 season over the Panthers’ likelihood of retaining the bulk of their record-breaking team.
Dylan Edwards’ long-term, multimillion-dollar contract extension agreed on the eve of the finals added his name to the likes of Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo, Brian To’o and Liam Martin, who have all secured deals through 2027.
The conjecture is Luai may be squeezed out, as the five-eighth could earn significantly more money elsewhere than Penrith could offer him under the salary cap.
Recent reports state Penrith has improved its two-year offer by an extra $50,000 to reach $850,000 a season and Mason has no doubts what he thinks the 26-year-old should do.
“He’s winning, he’s in a great place and I am glad they (Panthers) are tabling something like this and not disrespecting him,” Mason said of the improved offer on the Levels Network podcast he co-hosts with Justin Horo.
“And I think personally third-party deals might get him over a million.”
Mason won his lone NRL premiership in his fifth season with the Bulldogs back in 2004.
Luai was injured for parts of this year’s finals series, but still made a contribution to a Panthers side that secured a third straight premiership from a fourth consecutive Grand Final appearance.
While contracts are important in what is a relatively short career on the field, Mason said it’s “not a good feeling” when the losses start mounting up.
“If he is leaving some of his mates and they’re not winning, it’s not a good feeling,” Mason said.
“It ain’t a good feeling when you go from a winning culture to winning five or six games a year when you’re used to dominating every other game.
“Because there won’t be more (premierships), there won’t be any of the carry-on like he does now, you can’t do it if you’re not winning.”
Luai, who is contracted until the end of 2024, can officially test his value on the open market from 1 November and is expected to have plenty of suitors.