Johnathan Thurston has refused to give any assurances he'll remain with North Queensland beyond next season, leaving the champion playmaker poised to potentially become the game's highest-paid player.
A week after his Australia and Queensland teammate Greg Inglis signed a new deal with South Sydney to become the NRL's first million-dollar-a-season man, Thurston said he had yet to decide where his future lies.
The 29-year-old two-time Dally M Medallist is the biggest name off-contract at the end of the 2013 campaign, and with the new broadcast deal pumping A$1 billion into the game, Thurston is in a strong position to name his price.
The Cowboys have no fewer than 20 players who have deals that expire at the end of next year, including representative props Matt Scott and James Tamou, while Matt Bowen, Brent Tate, Dallas Johnson and prolific winger Ashley Graham will also be off contract.
This could hamper their attempts to keep the former Canterbury playmaker, who joined the club in 2005, but Thurston, who will play for Australia against New Zealand tomorrow in Townsville, said he was more interested in taking a holiday at the moment.
