Matt Lodge is allegedly the NRL's richest player thanks to the stupendous sweetener the Broncos had to fork out to dis-Lodge him. Something in the order of $1.3 million. The Warriors only paid ~ $150,000 for the final four months, making Lodge’s total salary for 2021 almost $1.5 million.
The Broncos were paying Lodge around $800,000 this season, with 3 remaining years on this contract, including a 2-year option in his favour. If Lodge had stayed in Brisbane he stood to earn almost $3 million over 4 years.
The insane payout will not be swallowed whole in the Broncos 2021 salary cap. Under NRL cap rules, a club can spread out a payout over the term of a player’s contract. This means Brisbane’s 2022 salary cap will also not take a massive hit.
Lodge:
“With Broncos paying a fair bit of the salary, I get to come cheap with not a whole heap of pressure on me and slot in at a reasonable wage and do my job. I just want to slot in and earn the respect of everyone I play with here – that’s a big thing for me. It feels a lot better coming here on half-price ... hopefully I can just play well and that’s not a problem.”
McHunt