The Cowboys have got their main man in locking up star half Tom Dearden long-term, but it could have repercussions for some of the other 23 players coming off-contract in the next two seasons.
Dearden shunned big money offers from NRL rivals including the Dragons to sign a five-year extension with the Cowboys through until the end of the 2029 season.
But the Cowboys have 10 players coming off-contract in 2024 and another 13 players in 2025, so they will struggle to keep them all and they have to get their priorities in order.
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Chad Townsend is coming to the end of his $800,000 a year deal in 2024 and will likely retire or potentially accept a reduced offer if he plays on, similar to Adam Reynolds at the Broncos.
That means that the bulk of Townsend’s money will be added to Dearden’s new long-term deal and that allows some flexibility for the Cowboys.
However, young gun back-rower Kulikefu Finefeuiaki is off-contract in 2024 and has attracted interest from a number of rivals, ironically including the Dragons.
The Cowboys will have to upgrade Finefeuiaki significantly to ward off rival approaches for his services.
Luciano Leilua is also off-contract in 2025 and the Cowboys may have to offload him to re-sign Finefeuiaki, but keeping both long-term could prove difficult.
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The Cowboys also have veteran forward Coen Hess coming off-contract in 2024 and if he plays on he won’t be cheap even if he accepts a pay cut.
The Cowboys have Jason Taumalolo, Reuben Cotter and Jeremiah Nanai locked up long-term, which makes it difficult to keep upgrading forwards and maintaining salary cap flexibility.
When Townsend retires the Cowboys will be hoping Tom Duffy can step up and join Dearden in the halves, but should he not develop as planned, they may need to go to market for a halves partner.
Taumalolo’s $1 million a season contract is the elephant in the room given he will be pushing 35 when his mega 10-year deal comes to an end in 2027
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There were reports the Cowboys could look to offload Taumalolo to free up salary cap space and balance their books, but he is unlikely to command the same money elsewhere, so it is in his best interests to stay put.
The Cowboys also have wingers Kyle Feldt and Semi Valemei coming off-contract in 2024 and they may struggle to keep both.
Murray Taulagi is set to move to the centres, which could see Feldt earn back his starting spot in 2024, but his future beyond then is unknown after the Cowboys signed Viliami Vailea from the Warriors, who will also compete for a spot in the outside backs.
Props Jordan McLean and Jamayne Taunoa-Brown are off-contract in 2024, with the former expected to retire along with hooker Jake Granville, which should free up some funds.
Returning half Jake Clifford is also off-contract in 2024 as is Sam McIntyre, so the Cowboys will need funds to keep those two beyond next season.
Fastforward to 2025 and the Cowboys have some big names coming off-contract led by Valentine Holmes, Reece Robson and Reuben Cotter.
All three are Origin stars and could command big money on their next deals. Griffin Neame and Leilua would also leave holes if they were not retained beyond 2025.
The key to re-signing Holmes, Robson and Cotter may be letting one or two of their forwards go given that their back row stocks are so strong.
It would be a bitter pill to swallow watching Finefeuiaki leave given his age and potential to improve, so the Cowboys could look to offload Leilua to keep the younger star long-term.
But in order to keep a strong spine around Dearden and keep Holmes and Cotter something may have to give and it appears it will come in the form of letting a star forward go.
If Taumalolo were to leave it would free up space to sign most of the 23 off-contract players over the next two seasons.
But as that appears highly unlikely, the Cowboys may have to accept that they can’t keep all their representative forwards and Leilua and Finefeuiaki.
