Queensland greats Corey Parker and Brent Tate have defended Dylan Brown and his management for taking advantage of his player option following the Roosters shutting down links with the playmaker. Brown and his management stunned the Parramatta Eels and the NRL world having offered the 24-year-old to rival clubs with reports he is looking for $1.2 million.
The five-eighth was able to do this because of a player option in his contract. He has up until round 10 of the 2025 NRL season to trigger his player option to stay at the club until 2031.
Brown is on around $900,000 at the Eels and was expected to stay on for a number of years. A couple of NRL greats have already questioned how much Brown is worth considering he failed to hit new heights for his team in 2024.
Although Parker quickly defended Brown and other players who have been in a similar situation. The Broncos great – who played in Brisbane for 16 years – claimed clubs are still run like a business and players often need to look after themselves to secure long-term stability. “Dylan Brown in his contract has a clause, that the club has signed off on, he has the opportunity to put himself out there on the open market and it has to be done before round 10,” he said on SEN Radio.
“Do I agree with the timing of it, in the sense the NRL season is just around the corner, no I don’t. Is he well within his rights, absolutely. Some might say the Parramatta Eels have done absolutely everything right by Dylan Brown…but he is well within his rights to do what he is doing…he is obviously highly sought after, it is an opportunity for him to potentially go and test the market,” Parker added.
“Players have the right to do this. Now, I defend the players here because it has a bad look. They way it is portrayed across the media, the way people perceive it, people look and go it is all about the money.”
Parker was quick to suggest the club signed off on this player option deal in his contract and Brown was only trying to look after a career, which can be fleeting due to injury or other factors. “Loyalty…is it there anymore? Probably not. We have heard different players speak around they are only in it for a short time and they need to make as much money as possible,” Parker pointed out.