Sam Walker is playing with fire in his stalled contract negotiations as a huge “risk” emerges in his dealings with the Roosters according to one prominent reporter.

The Tricolours’ star halfback is set to hit the open market after his contract talks broke down this week, with Code Sports reporting Walker baulked at a four-year extension worth around $5 million.

It has left the Roosters to reconsider their offer or risk the 24-year-old negotiating with rival clubs including the cashed-up Perth Bears and PNG Chiefs.

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While Walker was reportedly displeased with the club’s latest offer, The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Carayannis issued a big warning to the Maroons star.

“The risk for Sam Walker and his camp is that they push the envelope too far and they fall out of love with you,” he said on NRL 360 on Wednesday night.

“Then if they fall out of love, he may not be there next year let alone long term.”

As it stands, Walker remains contracted at the Roosters until the end of the 2027 season and reportedly has a desire to re-sign with the club.

But while he could hit the open market, the remainder of the Tricolours’ 2026 campaign is set to have a major impact on Walker’s future, currently vying for a minor premiership.

“The question mark still remains, can he deliver in big moments?” Carayannis said.

“He is going to have a great opportunity at the backend of the year to lead this Roosters side to a premiership.

“And if he does, name your price tag. Otherwise the uncertainty will still remain.”

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According to The Daily Telegraph’s Brent Read, Walker’s camp are seeking a mouth-watering figure.

“The elite halfbacks in our game, Nathan Cleary and Mitch Moses, are on about $1.5 million. I’m sure Sam doesn’t see himself in that bracket just yet,” he explained.

“But I believe that camp would believe he is just below that, so I imagine it’s around $1.3 million or $1.4 million.”

And while Walker’s management could fall out of favour with Roosters powerbrokers, there’s also a risk for the club in finalising a deal before the season’s end.

Doubts reportedly still linger regarding whether Walker has what it takes to “deliver” in crunch moments — and that doubt remains until he proves the club wrong.

“That’s what I am saying… that figure comes with an element of doubt that is naturally there with the Roosters around Sam Walker owning the big moments,” Carayannis said.

“They win the comp, that doubt is gone.”

Adding to the intrigue regarding Walker’s future is the staggering price tag set by his management.

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According to NRL 360 host Braith Anasta, the star playmaker’s management would reportedly have turned down a mouth-watering yearly salary, which could have marked around a $300,000 increase per-season.

“If they had got the $1.3 million today, it doesn’t seem that they would have taken it,” Anasta said.

“So they think obviously that he is worth $1.4 million and a ratchet… that’s the dilemma.

“That’s the risk that Sam has now, if he wants to get that money, he is probably not going to win a comp because he will get picked up by clubs that can’t win a comp.”

League legend Gorden Tallis added: “If you are at the Roosters, you have to take unders”.

Read, meanwhile, also admitted Walker could comfortably sit alongside Cleary and Moses on $1.5 million if he hits the open market.

“He’d get a lot more on the open market, I disagree with (Carayannis) to an extent when you said it’s a good thing for the Roosters,” he said.

“It’s not a good thing for the Roosters. If they go on to win a premiership, his price goes through the roof. If they can get a deal done now… it will cost them more down the track.”