Brisbane Broncos clear up Payne Haas ‘lowball’ rumour as they prepare to lose star to South Sydney Rabbitohs

Any suggestion NRL superstar Payne Haas will backflip on his commitment to the Rabbitohs to stay a Bronco after this season is seemingly all but dead in the water.

In the most recent update, NRL reporter Danny Weidler said he had been told “the Broncos want the Payne Haas story to go away and the spin is in overdrive”.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: NRL 2026 kicks off amid Payne Haas controversy.

“I’ve been told the board have decided not to make a last-ditch play for him. Probably wise as all indications are Haas has made his mind up. Great news for Souths.”

Reports recently emerged that the Broncos were pulling out all stops to keep Haas beyond this year by offering him a five-year mega-deal to stay.

It was also reported that Brisbane originally “lowballed” the superstar when discussing a contract extension, which led to the Haas camp to explore their options.

But now it seems the Broncos are resigned to set Haas free to South Sydney next season, while the club has also dismissed reports about the “lowball” offer.

Broncos chair Karl Morris says Haas’s decision was “not about money”.

“Simple as that. It depended on what he wanted. We talked about a number of options but we’re very comfortable with our position,” Morris told News Corp.

“At the end of the day, an NRL career can be very short and I can understand if Payne wants to do the best thing for his family.”

Haas’s contract with South Sydney is rumoured to be a three-year deal worth somewhere close to $3.6 million.

As Haas sits through his 10-day cooling-off period, Brisbane’s grand final hard-luck story Billy Walters says he’s also resigned to set Haas free to South Sydney next season, grace period or not.

“He would have thought about it for a couple months now, so I’d be very surprised if he changed his mind, and that’s kind of not in Payne’s character either, to backflip on things like that,” Walters said at the NRL’s season launch.

Meanwhile, retiring Brisbane captain Adam Reynolds has dismissed claims Haas’s exit is due to a falling out with coach Michael Maguire.

“The storyline about Madge (Maguire), that’s absolute rubbish ... this has got nothing to do with Madge,” Reynolds told the SMH.

“There’s never been a problem with Payne and Madge. They worked well together with NSW and I’ve seen the connection they have at training.

“I don’t know what is behind Payne’s decision. I know he’s got the connection with Wayne and a few players down there. It certainly came as a shock.”

Morris said he had never heard one single issue between Haas and Maguire.

“One hundred per cent there is no issue with Madge — I have not heard one whisper of that,” he said.

South Sydney captain Cameron Murray says Payne’s acquisition is “the best news ever”.

“Yeah, he’s obviously a world-class player, Payne, and professional, consistent performer,” Murray said.