The Brisbane Broncos have resumed a race against time to lock up the signing of Ezra Mam.
Despite the fact the club are facing a tight and tricky salary cap situation after making multiple recent re-signings, including those of Payne Haas and Patrick Carrigan on long-term deals, Mam is now seen as the priority for the Broncos.
That places him ahead of even veteran halfback Adam Reynolds who is also off-contract at the end of 2024 but has publicly expressed a desire to play on and is believed to be in negotiations.
It also puts him on the priority list ahead of Reece Walsh. The star is off-contract at the end of the 2025 campaign and will be in for a bumper pay rise regardless of whether he stays with the Broncos or not on the back of a 2023 season where he became the Queensland State of Origin fullback and rose to prominence as one of the best custodians in the game.
Mam himself will be in for a big pay increase. The talented youngster quickly cemented his spot at five-eighth for the Broncos and is viewed by club authorities as a part of their long-term future.
Those contract talks first opened months ago with Mam and his management, but were put on hold over the finals.
Now News Corp are reporting they have commenced once again, with the club desperate to hang onto the five-eighth.
It’s unclear what value the Broncos will be able to afford for Mam, but it’s believed he could receive well in excess of six or seven hundred thousand dollars per year on the open market, if not more.
That leaves Brisbane desperate to put the finishing touches on a deal before November 1, the date Mam can freely negotiate with other clubs for 2025.
On Mam’s part, he has expressed his desire on multiple occasions to remain with the Broncos and confirmed again to the publication recently that his aim is to stay at the Broncos and “start a new generation”.