NRL News: Adam Reynolds detail which could see Broncos retain Selwyn Cobbo and Kotoni Staggs

Michael Maguire, Broncos coach vowed to do everything in his power to keep Kotoni Staggs and Selwyn Cobbo despite the Ben Hunt’s coup putting even greater pressure on an already tight Brisbane salary cap. Many didn’t believe the Broncos had the opportunity to sign the former Dragons halfback into the salary cap, but the club managed to pull it off, despite handing out multiple contract upgrades in recent years millions of dollars to people like Ezra Mom, Payne Haas and vice-captain Pat Carrigan.

More recently, the Broncos Attached star guard Reece Walsh to a four-year, $4.4 million extension, making him the highest-paid player in club history. But many fear the Hunt deal has sealed the exit of promising backline talents Cobbo and Staggs. The two players are both out of contract next season and Brisbane are yet to agree a new deal with either player.

Brisbane’s salary cap had very little wiggle room last year, with the club reportedly only having $150,000 left before the June 30 transfer deadline, according to Courier mail. After rejecting Tevita Pangai Jnr, they used that money to bring in Jack Gosiewski and the Broncos recalibrated their salary cap again for 2025 to trap Hunt as they chase their first title in 19 years.

However, the pressure is going to be felt over the next couple of seasons, with something simply having to give. And captain Adam Reynolds could finally help solve what is arguably Maguire’s biggest headache by calling time on his career at the end of their 2025 campaign.

Cobbo and Staggs are currently locked into contracts worth around $650,000 per year, but they are both expected to receive upgraded contracts whether or not they remain in Red Hill. But Reynolds, who earns around $550,000 a year, could hypothetically free up the cap space needed for Maguire to retain Staggs and Cobbo if he retires at the end of 2025.

The Brisbane captain’s contract currently expires at the end of next year, and although Reynolds said in April he could continue playing in 2026, retiring at the end of next year would hardly be a surprise given his recent injuries. It would also be a move that Maguire might be encouraged by if it means retaining Cobbo and Staggs, who both have long and promising careers ahead of them.

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Maguire has said several times since joining the Broncos that he plans to find a way to keep Cobbo and Staggs. “Well, I want to keep Kotoni and Selwyn,” Maguire confirmed again last week. “How we achieve this depends on the organization and what we do there.

“I tend to move away from that (salary cap management) and how that happens. Ultimately, I want them both to be here…but how we get there is a work in progress.

There is no doubt that the purchase of Hunt has further pushed Brisbane’s salary cap to the absolute limit. And while Reynolds would be the most obvious solution, many out-of-contract players could also be let go in order to retain the forward pairing.

Of Brisbane’s top 30 who are all under full-time contract, half of them are out of contract at the end of 2025. While many under contract will be likely to demand improved deals to stay at Red Hill. And to further add to the pressure on the salary cap, Walsh’s contract will nearly double in 2026 to $1.1 million, somewhat negating Reynolds’ contract if he were to retire anyway.

Although there will be a slight increase in the NRL’s base salary cap, from $11.25 million this season to $11.4 million in 2025, it will be impossible for Brisbane to maintain the same squad as she will line up in 2025 for the 2026 campaign. And the Hunt deal only makes things even more complicated.