JASON Taumalolo’s first contract with North Queensland was worth $1500.

It was a deal struck at a pizza shop in Townsville.

Six months ago he signed one of the richest deals in NRL history when he inked a 10-year, $10 million contract.

But long before Taumalolo would become a household name, he was a gifted 14 year-old playing alongside his 15-year-old brother in a team filled with teens two-to-three years older than him.

Round 20

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It was 2007 and Taumalolo was part of a junior touring team from New Zealand.

He was a standout.

“The way he carried the footy impressed me. I knew if he goes home, I’ll never see this kid again,” Cowboys recruitment officer Clint Zammit told foxsports.com.au.

After watching a raw Taumalolo run riot against Kirwan High School, a deal needed to be struck that day.

A young Jason Taumalolo celebrates after scoring a try. Source: Getty Images

It took Zammit an hour and a half to get the deal done and eight large pizzas.

“The pizza was pretty good,” Taumalolo told foxsports.com.au.

“It was the start of something new for me. I went out of my comfort zone leaving New Zealand. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

That’s how the game’s most damaging forward was delivered to the Cowboys.

Signed away until the end of 2011.

“They were going home the next morning at 7am,” Zammit said.

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“Lucky his dad was over. I said; ‘I’ve got to sign this kid before he goes tomorrow’.

“I raced back and did some paperwork and met them at a pizza shop.

“We met him about 9.30pm. They had about eight pizzas and I had him signed for four years at about 11 o’clock. We brought him out the next year.”

He also signed his older brother Warner. It was all part of the negotiations.

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A young Jason Taumalolo playing Holden Cup. Source: News Corp Australia

“It was funny, his dad was sitting across and said you can’t sign him unless you sign his brother,” Zammitt said.

“So I signed both of them.”

All for the price of $1500, or 150 large pizzas.

While Warner never progressed into the senior grades at the Cowboys, he did play 20s for Parramatta.

The Eels were keen on Jason too but he stayed put.

While he’s at home in the far north of Queensland, the 2016 Dally M medal winner confessed it took him a long time to adjust.

“The heat killed me,” Taumalolo said with a shake of the head.

“I didn’t get used to the heat until about three years later.

When he first moved from New Zealand, he did so without his parents.

He and his brother living with a host family until his parents Tominika and Vaai joined him in Townsville.

“The transition moving from New Zealand to Australia was pretty hard but my parents moved over and my brother being there helped,” he said.

As he progressed through the grades and received his first taste of first grade in 2010, he kept extending his contracts.

In 2014 Paul Green arrived at the club and it is under his tutelage that the Kiwi international has flourished.

“When Greeny first came in he gave me an insight of what he wanted and the way the club was going, I enjoyed it and enjoyed my footy again,” he said.

“I grew as a player and a person and it’s good to play with good mates like Morgo and Feldty. We came through the ranks. It makes that transition from 20s to first grade smoother when you’re playing with mates.”

Jason Taumalolo with his Dally M Award. Source: News Corp Australia

He wasted little time turning his potential into results in the top grade.

In 2015 the Warriors came knocking with a $2 million deal but instead he re-signed.

Now, Taumalolo is under lock and key until the end of 2027.

“Why change something if it’s not broken?,” he asked.

At the age of 24, he’s been crowned the best player in the game, played Test football, won a premiership and is 80 minutes away from another ring and potentially a Clive Churchill medal.

Regardless of the result, Zammit will be waiting for Taumalolo in the sheds at full-time and if he’s lucky, he may even have a post-match pizza in hand.

“I said to Jason before, we’ve been together 10 years,” Zammit reflected.

“He’s one of my favourites.”