The risks and reward for Canberra Raiders with Jack Wighton contract offer

So if the reported value the Canberra Raiders have offered to Jack Wighton in his next contract is correct, the question Green Machine fans must ask is if he's worth it.

A whopping $4.4 million for four years. That's $1.1 million a season.

It's the kind of top NRL contract that would be hard for any player to look past.

It's on par with what Luke Brooks, James Tedesco and Tom Trbojevic earn this year, with only Kalyn Ponga, Nathan Cleary, and Daly Cherry-Evans' salary worth more.

Some rugby league pundits find it hard to believe another club would fork out quite so much for the Kangaroos and NSW Blues star.

But that's exactly how badly the Raiders don't want to see Wighton walk.

His value goes beyond the footy field as the face of the club, and on it he's been the driving force behind Canberra's success in recent years, becoming one of rugby league's greatest players and recognised with representative caps and individual accolades.

While the Raiders' big money offer might soothe concerns of die-hard Green Machine supporters fearing he'll leave, it's worth considering the gamble also at stake should he accept the Raiders deal, which will likely be his last.

Wighton is a durable and very fit 30-year-old. But in footy years, he's certainly reaching the end of his career. Brad Fittler was 32 when he retired, Darren Lockyer 34, Laurie Daley 31.

More recent examples of Benji Marshall (36) and Johnathan Thurston (35) suggest Wighton does still have a good few years left, but the last few seasons in their careers were impacted by injury.

It's not a reality fans want to think about, but players do get injured, and with the game more physical than ever, there's no guarantee Wighton can reliably play every game at five-eighth for another four years at the same standard.

Then there's the form question. Wighton is a talented player who has shown his versatility as a fullback and centre outside of his current role in the halves. However even he'd probably admit he hasn't been playing the lights out of late.

The Orange product has an obvious impact in his position, but his form has not reached the heights of Canberra's 2019 NRL grand final appearance or his 2020 Dally M-winning season.

That might be something he's blaming on the current state of the Raiders, currently second-last on the ladder and for yet another year chasing a tough road back to premiership relevancy.

Maybe Wighton feels he has greater prospects at the Dolphins, Bulldogs or Eels to nab an elusive premiership?

Only Wighton knows what it will take for him to leave the capital, but the Raiders have given him 4.4 million reasons to stay.

Though as numerous long-term NRL deals have shown, the club is taking a risk throwing that much cash on the table, and scrutiny of that value will follow every season.

Brooks' lucrative extension with the Tigers is a prime recent example of how certain contract moves can cripple a club financially for years after the ink has dried, and the Raiders wouldn't want to find themselves in a similar position betting the house on Wighton.

Whether it's a master-stroke or misfire, every investment has a risk, and that's no different with Wighton.

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