NRL star Cooper Johns sensationally quit his role on KIIS FM’s Kyle and Jackie O Show minutes into his first day back from the Christmas holidays.
The former Melbourne Storm halfback and five-eighth, 26, joined the radio show as a full-time sports reporter in 2024 and quickly became a popular addition to the hosting team.
Cooper, who is the youngest son of rugby league legend Matty Johns, was predicted to achieve great things at the station and regularly stood in for Kyle Sandilands in the main hosting seat.
“Today is my last day,” Cooper announced to listeners 10 minutes into Monday morning’s show.
“Amongst some other reasons, you know, I feel like it’s time for the caterpillar to…grow its wings.”
Kyle then divulged that Cooper was leaving because he had been offered other opportunities which “pay more”.
“Cooper rang me over the holidays, and the real reason is he’s got other opportunities that pay more,” the 54-year-old revealed.
“I said, ‘Bro, my motto is where there’s a till, there’s a way’.
“It’s with his sponsors and more opportunities to do very little work and earn more money,” Kyle added after Jackie ‘O’ Henderson quizzed him on what the opportunities were.
“So, this is your last day?” Jackie asked, to which Cooper replied: “Correct.”
“Gonna miss you guys,” he added.
In January 2024, Cooper confirmed that he had quit the NRL at the age of just 24. His career included stints with the Melbourne Storm and Manly Sea Eagles.
“Loved my time in the NRL but after some late nights pondering over a couple of schooners of Malibu and coke no sugar, I’ve decided to step away for a bit and switch out the leather pig skin for a microphone,” Cooper wrote in an Instagram post.
He thanked his teammates and his coach, Craig Bellamy, and took a swipe at his famous father and uncle, Andrew Johns.
Cooper also hinted that the door remained open for a future return to the sport.
“Finally to my family, who cause me nothing but stress… get f****d,” he joked.
“Is this the end who knows…one thing I do know is rugby league is the greatest game of all.”
Cooper’s departure comes after Kyle and Jackie O’s breakfast suffered a large staff turnover in recent months.
According to reports, the KIIS FM show lost around a dozen key staff members following its launch in Melbourne in April 2024.
Staff members included executive producer Pedro Vitola, digital content producer Joshua Fox, and KIIS FM program director Tony Aldridge.
It is alleged that the high turnover of staff was contributing to a “pressure cooker” environment behind the scenes, news.com.au reports.