{"id":811175,"date":"2026-07-20T00:19:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T00:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/811175\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T00:19:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T00:19:11","slug":"nrl-2026-cooper-cronk-slams-nrl-over-jarome-luai-third-party-pepsi-deal-at-png-chiefs-while-at-parramatta-eels-fox-league-reaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/811175\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: Cooper Cronk slams NRL over Jarome Luai third party Pepsi deal at PNG Chiefs while at Parramatta Eels, Fox League reaction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cooper Cronk has vented his frustration over the NRL allowing Jarome Luai to service a third party agreement associated with his PNG Chiefs deal \u2014 while being contracted at a rival club.<\/p>\n

Luai is still contracted at the Wests Tigers for 2026 and has a one-year deal with Parramatta for 2027 before he links up with the PNG Chiefs the following year.<\/p>\n

Watch every game of every round of the NRL Premiership LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Not only is Luai\u2019s $1.2 million a season contract with the Chiefs tax free, so are the third party deals that come with it.<\/p>\n

Luai has reportedly signed a deal to become the face of Pepsi in Papua New Guinea <\/a>\u2013 the first of his third-party deals in the Pacific which could see him earn millions over the next four years.<\/p>\n

As part of the deal, Luai will have to travel to PNG a handful of times throughout the 2027 season to fulfil certain duties.<\/p>\n

Cronk didn\u2019t take aim at Luai, but at the game\u2019s governing body for allowing it to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure how the NRL can allow Jarome Luai to be contracted to the Tigers or Eels, but he can still service a third party agreement that is for a contract in 2028,\u201d Cronk said on Fox League\u2019s post-match show on Saturday night. <\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/p>\n

TALKING POINTS: Tigers\u2019 \u2018huge price\u2019 in Luai call; Broncos stars who have to \u2018get out\u2019 of Walsh\u2019s way<\/a><\/p>\n

Hindy goes nuclear over Fainu suspension | 00:52<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use the example of Payne Haas. Is Payne Haas servicing a contract for South Sydney? No. Like, that is not on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my last year at the Melbourne Storm\u2026would I be out there spruiking about my third party agreements at the Roosters while wearing a Melbourne Storm jersey? No.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cronk called on Peter V\u2019landys and his team to change their view on situations like Luai\u2019s, saying it was not a good look to have players endorsing things in contracts tied to clubs they haven\u2019t arrived at yet. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe NRL needs to fix that up. That is not on. We\u2019re expanding and getting extra teams in the competition. You cannot have a player currently contracted servicing an agreement that\u2019s expected to happen in 12 months\u2019 time. Not on,\u201d Cronk said.<\/p>\n

Cooper Cronk had his say on Jarome Luai\u2019s third party deals with the ChiefsSource: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n

While the Tigers reportedly had issues with Luai taking time away from club duties to service a third party agreement at the Chiefs, Eels coach Jason Ryles wasn\u2019t worried<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a pro \u2014 as long as he turns up and does what we need him to do at training, and playing and performing, you know what I mean?\u201d Ryles said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty big part of all the players\u2019 lives now, especially the boys at the pointy end. So, you know, it\u2019s not only just being a footy player now, there\u2019s a brand and all the rest of it that goes with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo for me, as long as footy comes first (I don\u2019t have a problem).\u201d<\/p>\n

Cronk\u2019s fellow panellist Kevin Walters defended Luai doing some work for Pepsi in PNG while contracted at the Eels in 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Coops, you\u2019ve got to be careful because it\u2019s got nothing to do with the Chiefs, the Pepsi deal. That\u2019s a direct deal with Jarome Luai and Pepsi,\u201d Walters reminded Cronk.<\/p>\n

But the two-time Dally M Medallist wasn\u2019t budging on his view.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get it, but it should not be able to be done while he is wearing another jersey. I don\u2019t care if he\u2019s playing for the Maitland team\u2026I don\u2019t like it,\u201d Cronk fired back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cooper Cronk has vented his frustration over the NRL allowing Jarome Luai to service a third party agreement…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":811176,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-811175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}