Cowboys Jason Taumalolo breaks free from the Raiders Josh Hodgson. Photo/AAP Images
Cowboys Jason Taumalolo breaks free from the Raiders Josh Hodgson. Photo/AAP Images
The 10-year, $10 million contract for North Queensland superstar Jason Taumalolo is a groundbreaking deal for the NRL.
The Cowboys wrecking ball smashes opponents on a weekly basis and now his bank balance is going to be the envy of the blokes he leaves in his considerable wake.
But it is not the first decade-long deal in Australian sport, and there have been richer and longer mega-deals around the globe.
Nobody will take the physical battering that Taumololo will, though.
He will earn every penny, as he carries the Cowboys' hopes and dreams on his very broad shoulders, especially when Johnathan Thurston retires.
Here's some other mega-deals that had heads spinning and player agents winning.
LANCE FRANKLIN
Just when everybody thought Buddy was leaving Hawthorn to join the Giants at the end of the 2013 AFL season, the Sydney Swans swooped in with a nine-year, $10 million package for the then-26-year-old key forward.
The basketball legend signed a $25 million deal for 25 years with the Los Angeles Lakers in the early 1980s. At the time, it made him just the third NBA player to earn $1 million a year.
Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates after winning the NBA title. Photo/Photosport
Lakers owner Dr Jerry Buss eventually gave Johnson a share of the storied franchise.
ALASTAIR LYNCH
The power forward left Fitzroy to join the Brisbane Bears at the end of 1993 for the AFL's first 10-year contract. The package was worth more than $2 million and included a job.
After battling injuries and illness, Lynch was an integral part of the hat-trick of premierships from 2001-03.
Christiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid celebrates his third goal during the Champions League game against Galatasaray. Photo/Photosport
CRISTIANO RONALDO
Extended his contract at Real Madrid until 2021 on a deal worth about $50 million per year. If he sees out the deal, he will be 36 and in his 12th season with the Spanish club.
GIANCARLO STANTON
The Miami Marlins slugger hit Major League Baseball records out of the park with the 13-year, $325 million deal he signed in 2014. It surpassed the previous record held by Miguel Cabrera, who had a relatively decent $292 million, 10-year contract with the Detroit Tigers.
Michael Jordan. Chicago Bulls. NBA Basketball. 1997. Photo/Getty Images
MICHAEL JORDAN The basketball icon played for unders (about $3 million-ish a year) almost his entire career at the Chicago Bulls, because he was making massive money on his shoe deal with Nike and other lucrative sponsorship deals.
But in his last two years with the Bulls in the late 1990s, he demanded - and received - $30 million per season.
TOM BOYD
Jumped at a seven-year, $6 million offer from the Western Bulldogs after the No 1 draft pick started his AFL career with the GWS Giants. An off-field incident and poor form had many questioning the deal, until Boyd came up big in the 2016 Grand Final.
GARETH BALE The Welsh wizard recently penned a contract extension that will keep him at powerhouse Real Madrid until 2022. A lazy 150 million pounds (A$244 million) will drop into his bank account over that time.
