England international back-rower Kai Pearce-Paul is entering his final contract year with the Newcastle Knights with plenty on the line in the upcoming 2025 NRL season.

The former Wigan Warriors star, who moved to the Knights for the 2024 season, got off to a decent start in his first year and finished as one of the club’s best players amidst a conflicting campaign.

Newcastle managed to scrape into the NRL Finals in eighth place but were one and done as the North Queensland Cowboys sent them home.

The London-born Pearce-Paul suffered a horror injury in Round 25 but returned to feature in the playoff loss, before heading home for England international duty.

Pearce-Paul’s excellent performances against Samoa put him in the shop window for other NRL sides to potentially poach his services beyond 2025.

He has since opened up on his future with the Knights ahead of the new NRL season.

Former Super League star Pearce-Paul keeps NRL future close to his chest

As Kai Pearce-Paul progresses through his first full preseason in Australia with the Knights, he is fully aware that this is a big year for him as he runs off-contract but remains coy with his future plans.

Speaking at the Newcastle Knights media day, Pearce Paul said: “Yeah, I guess it’s a big year. Obviously there’s a lot going on behind the scenes but for me, I’m not really too focused on that.

“I’ll leave that all up to my agent. As of now, I’ve made it pretty clear to him that I want to focus on the footy first.

“As of now, I think I just made it pretty clear to keep me out of it for now. I want to make sure I’m flowing into the season as well as I can with little background noise in my head.

“So I’m happy just to let him sort that out while I focus on getting round one and flowing through the season well.

“I love this place. Obviously it’s one of the best places in the world and I’ve got a lot of love for Newcastle, the fans, and everything about it. So yeah, time will tell. I couldn’t tell you right now.”

Newcastle Knights will be keen to extend Pearce-Paul beyond 2025

Kai Pearce-Paul is not the only notable name to be running off-contract with the Knights in 2025, with star front-rower Leo Thompson set to exit the club next year.

Thompson will be joining the Canterbury Bulldogs from 2026 onwards in what was a bruising blow to the Knights, who had tabled an offer but were unable to retain his services.

The Bulldogs’ rising trajectory as Finals contenders attracted Thompson to them despite the Canberra Raiders offering more money.

There is no doubt that, unless Pearce-Paul’s performances are subpar next season, he will be one of their key priorities to retain beyond 2025.

The second-rower has been free to explore the market since November 1st, and will have likely seen other clubs approach his agent.