A commitment by Manly to retain the core of last year’s NRL grand final-winning side was the deciding factor in Daly Cherry-Evans staying with the club.
The 23-year-old on Friday put pen to paper on a lucrative upgrade to his current deal, believed to be worth in the region of $500,000 per season.
The new agreement puts him on par with the likes of Johnathan Thurston, Billy Slater and Greg Inglis as one of the top earners in the game, and represents an exponential rise from his current $85,000-a-year deal.
“He’s doing the business on the field and the new contract reflects that,” Cherry-Evans’ manager Gavin Orr told AAP.
Orr requested an official release for his client from the final year of his contract last week, but denied he was playing hard ball to get the club to agree to his demands.
“That wasn’t the case at all. I just wanted to see what was out there and wanted to ensure Daly got a deal that represented his market value,” Orr said.
“He wanted to stay at Manly and wanted to know that others will too.
“He was given some undertakings by the club that they were trying to keep players and, once we sat down with the board and worked things out, he was happy to show his commitment to them.”
Cherry-Evans enjoyed one of the finest rookie campaigns in many years in 2011, helping the Sea Eagles to a second premiership in four seasons and also making his Test debut for Australia on the Four Nations tour.
He’s been widely tipped to be a member of the Queensland State of Origin team this year, filling the utility bench role.
“Manly gave me my start in the NRL and I love it here,” Cherry-Evans said.
“I get the opportunity to play with so many committed, talented players and its great to know I’ll be here for years to come.”
Despite his whirlwind start to life in the NRL, Manly coach Geoff Toovey believes the club have yet to see the best of Cherry-Evans.
“He’s a superstar of the future and with the quality players he has around him, we can continue our winning formula,” Toovey said.