Parramatta Eels confirmed on Sunday afternoon that Zac Lomax had been released from the club just one year into a four-year deal.
Lomax was reportedly on a $650,000 p/a contract at Parramatta, suddenly leaving the club with a lot of flexibility to make a big play in the free agency market next summer.
It is nonetheless a big blow on the field for the struggling Eels, with Lomax notching up nine tries in his 14 starts as a winger (in addition to five games at the start of the season in the centres) as they finished six points outside the top-eight.
The 26-year-old is "almost certain" to soon announce a defection to the rebel R360 competition, according to a report from Code Sports, risking a ten-year ban from the NRL.
R360 is reportedly offering marquee tax-free deals of $1.5m per year to attract stars from the NRL and Super Rugby, which would see Lomax three times better off if he takes it up.
The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) earlier this year threatened ten-year bans from all sanctioned competitions for any player who joins R360, though whether they would follow through -- and more importantly, if it would hold up in a court challenge -- remains to be seen, especially as the players would be signing as uncontracted athletes.
Founded by England league legend Mike Tindall, R360 has won funding for its inaugural competition in October 2026 and will begin with six men's teams, operating in a Rugby Sevens-style carnival season which won't feature any teams or matches in Australia.