<p>The 2025 NRL season is nearly upon us, so it's time to see who will be raking in the big bucks. With the NRL salary cap growing every year, so do the size of the players pay packets. But who’s taking home the most?&nbsp;</p> <p>We’ve seen plenty of cash waved around over the past 12 months, so there’s a few new faces on the NRL’s rich list. Today we are counting down the top 15 highest paid NRL players leading into the 2025 season.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>15. Cameron Murray - $1 million</h3> <p><em><strong>South Sydney Rabbitohs</strong></em></p> <p>Kicking off the list of the top 15 highest paid NRL players for 2025 is Rabbitohs skipper and NSW and Australian representative Cameron Murray.</p> <p>Widely considered to be one of the toughest, skilful and most versatile forwards in the game, it’s no surprise to see that the Rabbitohs splashed the cash to tie him to the club long term.</p> <p>Unfortunately for Bunnies’ fans, Murray has been ruled out for most of the upcoming season after rupturing his Achilles in training.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>14. David Fifita - $1 million</h3> <p><em><strong>Gold Coast Titans</strong></em></p> <p>Despite another mediocre campaign on the Gold Coast, tearaway Titan David Fifita is still taking home a cool $1 million a season in 2025.</p> <p>The Gold Coast had to break out the cheque book to snare him away from M1 rivals Brisbane and hasn’t managed to live up to his hefty price tag so far at the Glitter strip franchise.</p> <p>Flashes of brilliance haven’t been enough to fully punctuate his inconsistencies, and the Titans will be hoping this is the season everything falls into place for the human wrecking ball, as he still has two years left on his current seven figure contract.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>13. Addin Fonua-Blake - $1 million</h3> <p><em><strong>Cronulla Sharks</strong></em></p> <p>Cronulla’s new big man Fonua-Blake is set to earn big coin in 2025, with a reported $1m going into his pockets during his first season at the Shire.</p> <p>This will make Fonua-Blake one of the richest props in the game and after signing a four-year deal with the Sharks reportedly worth over $4m per year, the money will keep rolling in for the foreseeable future for AFB.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>12. Latrell Mitchell - $1 million</h3> <p><em><strong>South Sydney Rabbitohs</strong></em></p> <p>One of the modern game’s most polarising figures, Latrell’s last contract upgrade saw him move into the top 15 highest paid players in the NRL, somewhere he will remain in 2025.</p> <p>Souths fans will no doubt be hoping he can play to his potential, and most importantly, stay on the field in 2025, as the last few seasons have been riddled with injury and suspension woes.&nbsp;</p> <p>This unfortunately is already proving to be a problem, with news breaking that Latrell will miss the first two months of the season after being injured in training.</p> <p>When fit, he is more than worth his million-dollar salary and can be a key proponent of a South Sydney bounce back in 2025 when he returns from injury.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>11. Tom Trbojevic - $1.1 million</h3> <p><em><strong>Manly Sea Eagles</strong></em></p> <p>Turbo Tom is up next with the Manly fullback just missing out on a place inside the top 10 highest earners in the NRL.</p> <p>If not for a string of unfortunate injuries, the dynamic fullback might have found himself atop this list.</p> <p>Trbojevic won the Dally M medal in 2021 after one of the greatest individual seasons in NRL history and when fit is always the first name on the Manly team sheet.</p>

<h3>10. James Tedesco - $1.1 million</h3> <p><em><strong>Sydney Roosters</strong></em></p> <p>The man they call “Teddy” takes out the tenth spot on the NRL rich list. Although not without his detractors as father time begins to catch up with him, Tedesco is still one of the competition’s standout performers.</p> <p>Always involved and always coming up clutch, Teddy wears the No.1 jersey at the Roosters but has finally been usurped at Origin level by Dylan Edwards.</p> <p>Not only has the rise of young in-form fullbacks put pressure on the aforementioned jerseys, but he will need to prove that he still has what it takes to be worth 1.1 million for both the 2024 and 2025 seasons.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>9. Nicho Hynes - $1.1 million</h3> <p><em><strong>Cronulla Sharks</strong></em></p> <p>The 2022 Dally M player of the year has surged into the top 10 highest paid players in the NRL after consistent performances for the Sharks over the past two years.&nbsp;</p> <p>After inking the most lucrative deal in Cronulla Sharks history, the halfback is currently working his way through a deal that will see him earn a reported $7 million over the next six seasons.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>8. Daly Cherry Evans - $1.2 million</h3> <p><em><strong>Manly Sea Eagles</strong></em></p> <p>After infamously backflipping on the Titans, DCE signed a bumper decade-long contract with the Sea Eagles and there he has remained ever since.</p> <p>At the time, that was the most lucrative contract in NRL history, and it still has him firmly in the top 10 highest paid players a decade later.&nbsp;</p> <p>As the Australian and Queensland halfback, as well as one of the most consistent performers in the NRL over the last decade, Daly is worth every dollar.</p>

<h3>7. Payne Haas - $1.2 million</h3> <p><em><strong>Brisbane Broncos</strong></em></p> <p>The Broncos’ highest paid player is their big man up front, Payne Haas. Many would say Haas is the best forward in the game and is doing on the field that which has not been seen before.&nbsp;</p> <p>His dominance in the forwards is a massive reason why the Broncos are among the premiership favourites in 2025, despite missing out on the finals altogether last year.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>6. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui - $1.2 million</h3> <p><em><strong>Gold Coast Titans</strong></em></p> <p>The highest paid forward in the game is Titans skipper and Queensland Origin representative Tino Fa’asuamaleaui. Big Tino takes home a cool $1.2M a year. Not bad for a player who only started playing first grade six years ago.</p> <p>While 1.2m may seem like a lot for a 25-year-old forward, keep in mind how much he needs to spend on Head and Shoulders every year to keep that flowing mullet looking pristine.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>5. Jarome Luai - $1.2 million</h3> <p><em><strong>Wests Tigers</strong></em></p> <p>You’d think it would be hard to convince a player to walk away from a side who have won the last four consecutive premierships. Well, the Tigers gave Panthers’ pivot Jarome Luai 1.2 million reasons why he should do just that.</p> <p>From the penthouse to the basement, Luai has traded four straight premierships for three straight wooden spoons. This trade-off has seen him not only become one of the top 15 highest paid players in the NRL, but one of the top five.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>4. Mitchel Moses - $1.25 million</h3> <p><em><strong>Parramatta Eels</strong></em></p> <p>Just missing out on a podium finish in 2025 is Parramatta playmaker Mitchell Moses.</p> <p>Thanks to signing a bumper deal that will see him stay at the Eels until 2029, Moses is well and truly raking in the big bucks.&nbsp;</p> <p>With contract dramas finally out of the way, the Eels will be hoping their newly appointed captain can lead them back to the summit of Rugby League.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>3. Cameron Munster - $1.3 million</h3> <p><em><strong>Melbourne Storm</strong></em></p> <p>Slotting in at no.3 is Storm standoff, self-proclaimed “mad dog” and Queensland hero Cameron Munster.</p> <p>A bidding war between Melbourne &amp; The Dolphins for Munsters signature helped to hike his salary to the 3rd highest in the NRL this season.&nbsp; He is the current QLD and Australia five-eighth and has helped his current employers the Melbourne Storm win two premierships. Worth every cent.</p>

<h3>2. Nathan Cleary - $1.3 million</h3> <p><em><strong>Penrith Panthers</strong></em></p> <p>Many will be surprised to not see Cleary atop this list, as the Panthers No.7 is widely regarded as the best player in the game at the moment.</p> <p>Still his yearly take home is nothing to scoff at. After guiding Penrith to back-to-back-to-back-to-back premierships, Cleary has been compensated accordingly.</p>

<h3>1. Kalyn Ponga - $1.4 million</h3> <p><em><strong>Newcastle Knights</strong></em></p> <p>Former wunderkind Kalyn Ponga once again takes out the top spot on the NRL rich list.</p> <p>The former Dally M winner is one of the most naturally gifted and electric players around.</p> <p>The Knights identified this straight away and threw the kitchen sink at the fullback, tying him to a multi-year, $1.4 million-a-season contract.</p> <p>As long as he can stay out of the treatment room and on the field, the sky is the limit for the Knights, Ponga and his bank balance in 2025.&nbsp;</p>