Former England Test forward James Graham has labelled a $1 million per season contract for Xavier Willison a “bargain” as the hulking prop heads to market on November 1.

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The Broncos are facing a nervous wait after Willison and his management confirmed that he was going to have a look at rival offers from next month.

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Just weeks ago the Broncos were very confident that Willison would re-sign before other clubs could talk to him.

The Broncos are prepared to pay him $1 million a season for a four-year extension with the view that he will be their next Payne Haas and lead the pack into the future.

But Graham, who played 392 first grade games in the NRL and Super League, thinks the Broncos offer wasn’t up to scratch.

“At 24, and from what I’ve seen from Xavier Willison, $1 million a season is a bargain for the Broncos,” Graham said on his Bye Round podcast.

“And you could even argue with a ratchet (clause), I think it’s a bargain.

“They’re desperate. They can’t afford to lose him. They are desperate for him.

“There’s a reason why the Broncos want him for four years as well. Because they’re looking at this as a bargain.”

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Willison was recently awarded the Paul Morgan Medal as Brisbane’s best player for 2026.

Graham thinks Willison may take a shorter contract in the hope that he’s worth even more in two more years when he’ll be hitting his peak playing age.

“Maybe you’d look and go, do you get a two-year deal and back yourself to be the best front rower,” he said.

“If you’re at 26 entering this deal…it’s the price you pay for long-term deals and security. You don’t get any wiggle room.”

Paying forwards more than $1 million per season has come with a degree of risk.

In March, 2017 the Cowboys announced that Jason Taumalolo had signed a 10-year, $10 million deal.

At the time he was clearly the game’s best forward and was running for more than 200m per game which was staggering.

“Jason Taumalolo got that 10-year deal but $1 million a year back then was always going to be astronomical money. That was paying overs to get him for that long-term deal,” Graham said.

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David Fifita, meanwhile, was lured away from the Broncos to the Titans in 2020 on a three-year deal worth more than $3 million and struggled with indifferent form.

But Graham is backing the huge price tag attached to Willison, who is currently in the New Zealand squad at the World Cup.

“This is unders to get him on that four-year deal. And it’s not even due to the threat of PNG, Perth, or a 20th team coming in,” Graham said.

“This is other clubs saying ‘we’ll give you a 25 per cent increase on that, we’ll go to $1.25 million to bring you to the club to be our alpha in your absolute peak years’.”

The PNG Chiefs loom as Brisbane’s biggest threat.

If the Chiefs offer Willison the same as the Broncos he will earn an extra $560,000 a season thanks to the tax-free breaks offered in PNG.



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