How $3 million PNG third party deal triggered Jarome Luai’s early exit from Tigers
The Tigers rose eyebrows when they told Jarome Luai he was free to leave in 2026, despite having a year left on his deal. Behind the departure - a secret PNG multimillion dollar agreement.
Peter Badel
@badel_cmail
4 min read
July 16, 2026 - 2:03PM
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...8106cdd1d3756bf60dea86b3483c88ab?amp#comments
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It is the $3 million third-party deal with Papua New Guinea that convinced Wests Tigers to jettison Jarome Luai.
Luai’s impending third-party commitments to his future NRL employer, PNG, and the multimillion-dollar ramifications for the Tigers, was a critical factor in the joint-venture club’s decision to part ways with the playmaking superstar.
Luai will embark on a one-year cameo with the Eels next season before taking up a tax-free, $3.6 million, three-year deal to spearhead the Chiefs in their foundation year in the NRL in 2028.
But while Luai’s debut with the Chiefs is still 18 months away, it is a mega third-party deal, brokered with a PNG corporation, that sealed his fate at the Tigers.
The lucrative third-party agreement (TPA), said to be worth north of $3 million, tax-free, over a four-year period, will be activated from next season, 12 months before PNG’s entry, and that’s what rang alarm bells for Wests Tigers chiefs.
Luai is set to join the Chiefs in 2028.
This masthead can reveal at least one PNG-related third-party deal, negotiated by his management, has already been registered for Luai with the NRL as required under salary-cap rules.
And because PNG won’t enter the league until 2028, Luai’s TPA had to be lodged via his existing club, the Wests Tigers, which went down like a lead balloon at Concord.
Luai’s PNG third-party sponsorship was approved by Tigers coach Benji Marshall, who had asked club hierarchy to be made aware of any TPA deals for his playing group.
Aside from the absurdity of the Tigers having to lodge a TPA deal with links to a rival team from a foreign country, the other sticking point surrounded the impact of the agreement, and how Luai stood to service it while still playing for the Tigers.
Luai’s third-party commitments to the Papua New Guinea conglomerate begin next season.
It means the newly-signed Parramatta star will be required to undertake trips to Port Moresby in 2027 to actively service the deal with his Pacific sponsors while on the Eels’ payroll.
That was a scenario that angered Wests Tigers bosses, especially when the club faces outlaying millions to upgrade their next wave of young guns headlined by Samuela Fainu.
The Tigers had hoped Luai would be their marquee star for years to come.
So the Tigers made the decision to expedite Luai’s release, believing his impending commitment to the Chiefs - not only on the field but off it - could destabilise their push for finals and premiership credibility next season under Marshall.
Sources close to negotiations say at least one of Luai’s third-party deals in PNG could be valued at $1 million next season.
Over the duration of his Chiefs contract, which expires in 2030, Luai stands to make at least $3 million from TPAs, and potentially more if his profile and gravitas swells in coming years as PNG’s marquee recruit in a nation besotted with rugby league.
Such was the angst over Luai’s third-party interest, Tigers CEO Shaun Mielekamp made internal inquiries on how best to handle the matter.
Contacted on Wednesday, Mielekamp declined to discuss Luai’s third-party situation, saying he wished the playmaker well at the Eels.
The Tigers have publicly supported Luai’s move to the NRL’s newest franchise. Picture: Sam Ruttyn
“I don’t want to comment on that, that’s noise we don’t need,” he said.
“Jarome has been absolutely professional.
“He has brought plenty to this club.
“We will be forever grateful and we have a job to do now to finish this season on a high.
“I’m looking forward to Jarome leading us around for that.”
A well-placed source said the demands Luai would face in servicing his PNG third-party deals was the final straw for the Tigers.
“The Tigers are having to deal with third parties Jarome has with PNG because the Chiefs aren’t in the comp yet,” the insider said.
“Wests Tigers have been hit with a whole range of third parties for Jarome that they have to lodge, yet the Tigers get no benefit from it.
“More importantly, Jarome Luai has to service them next year while playing for the Wests Tigers, or now the Eels.
“It’s a major part of the reason why the Tigers decided to move on.
“They may as well take the money and upgrade and extend young players they’ve got.”
Luai will join Moses at the Eels in 2027 before his PNG move. Picture: NRL Imagery
Former Broncos coach Kevin Walters, speaking on Wednesday on his Inside Ball podcast, expressed dismay at the series of get-out clauses in Luai’s five-year Tigers contract that allowed him to negotiate mid-season with PNG.
“It’s horrible,” Walters said of the Luai saga.
“It’s not normal what happened, it’s not normal.
“Nobody has won really.
“The thing that puzzles me is why that clause in Jarome’s contract was at the end of April where he had to make a decision to trigger the clause to continue to play for the Tigers.
“Because of that clause and the timing, he (was permitted) to fly to PNG to have a look at the Chiefs and their facilities and what it’s actually like up there
“That was a huge distraction for the club (Wests Tigers).
“I have got no problem with Jarome Luai signing with the Chiefs, but it’s just the timing of it all.”
