UPDATE: Penrith star Jarome Luai has taken to his social media, stating any move away from the Panthers is yet to be made official.
Luai is set to sign a five-year deal to play for the Wests Tigers from 2025.
According to NRL reporter Michael Chammas, the deal is worth more than $6 million.
FOLLOW LIVE: Australia v Pakistan first Test day three
READ MORE: ‘Absolutely not’: Marsh rejects burning Warner question
READ MORE: Murdered father sledge sparks UFC 296 chaos
Sharing an NRL on Nine graphic to his Instagram stories which announced the agreement, Luai wrote below, “No pen to paper here. I’ll let you know when a deal is done”.
The Panthers had offered Luai a three-year, $2.55 million deal to remain at the club in 2025 and 2026.
The NRL premiers have ten days to come up with a bigger offer to try and keep Luai, meaning, at this stage, he can only declare his intention to sign with the Tigers under the NRL’s new rules.
During this timeframe, Luai retains the right to pull out of the deal with the Wests Tigers, which could create a level of uncertainty, given the big money offer also on the table from the Canterbury worth around $5.5 million over five years.
Luai, a 107-game veteran for the Panthers, is a three-time premiership winner with the club, having played all his senior and junior football for Penrith.
Luai’s future has been the talk of the off-season, with the three-time premiership winner paying visits to Bulldogs football boss Phil Gould and Tigers coach Benji Marshall.
The Tigers interim CEO Shane Richardson said this week the club would abandon plans to chase Addin Fonua-Blake to concentrate on signing Luai.
“I’ve made my feelings on Luai well-known for a long while. In my opinion, he was the best young half coming through,” Richardson said.
“He’s proven at the highest level he was the best young half coming through.
“Not only that, he’s a great team leader, that Penrith side revolves around Luai. He is a great person off the field despite what many media people try to make out.
“You couldn’t meet a better person than him and you couldn’t ask for a better person at your club.”
It’s understood Luai wanted to make a call about his future before returning to training with the premiers, but it took a little more time than expected.
Last month, Luai responded on social media to Penrith coach Ivan Cleary’s claim that it would be a risky venture for rival NRL clubs to sign him as a halfback.
Cleary told reporters it would be a gamble due to his inexperience in the role.
“Could he do it? I’m sure he could do it. Has he done it? No, he hasn’t,” he said.
“He’s done a little bit with Samoa, of course, at last year’s World Cup, but generally speaking in this team he’s had his role to play and it’s slightly different.
“I guess that’s a risk that everyone [rivals] would have to take.”
