NRL star Tom Dearden has shut down a “nonsense” rumour he is planning to give up the Cowboys in favour of a move to Sydney.
The Cowboys captain affirmed his commitment to the club in a press conference on Monday, and will honour a contract that ties him to the club until 2029.
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Speculation has surrounded Dearden with claims he was considering a move to Sydney for personal reasons.
His partner Millie Oliver, who is pregnant with their first child, is a successful hairstylist and has a popular beauty studio in the Harbour City.
But Dearden rejected the idea his future lies anywhere but the Cowboys.
“There’s been a fair bit of speculation getting around at the moment, there’s been a lot of suggestions that I wanted to move or leave the club,” Dearden said in a press conference.
“I just wanna make sure [people know] that’s not the case at all, I don’t feel like I should have to get up here and explain myself against speculation.
“It’s just been a whole lot of nonsense. I’ve got my private life with a partner who’s pregnant and I’d like for that all to be kept private.
“I’m committed to the Cowboys until the end of 2029 and I think it’s a bit silly that you have to get up here and speak to a bit of nonsense that’s going around.
“It’s had an impact on the personal life – I’ve got a pregnant partner and I think when there’s speculation getting around like that, people are reading that and it gives them questions to ask and you always have to answer to people.
“I think it’s a bit disappointing with all the speculation around that and there’s been no suggestions or no thinking about not being committed to the Cowboys.
“I’m not recommitting or anything like that, I’ve always been committed to the Cowboys and none of that has ever changed, so it’s a bit disappointing that my partner and family have had to deal with a lot of questions.”
Dearden signed a five-year contract extension in 2023, taking him through to the end of the 2029 season.
His unique deal could see him become one of the NRL’s first $2m per year players, with reports that he has a clause that ensures he is paid 12 per cent of the club’s total salary cap from 2028 onwards.
If the NRL salary cap rises to $20m by that time, he would be due to earn $2.4m per year.
Dearden’s 2026 season has been derailed by injury. He has been unable to get back on the field for the Cowboys since Round 10.
Dearden suffered a syndesmosis injury during that match, and his return was pushed back indefinitely as a result of a high-grade peroneal muscle avulsion tear on his opposite leg.
The club expect Dearden to return before the end of the season.
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