The Perth Bears may use the NRL's 20 per cent salary-cap exemption to offer Matt Burton a starting salary of $1.2 million in 2028.
The extra $200,000 would not count towards the cap, but the club can apply the exemption to only one player for its first three years.
The Daily Telegraph reports Burton will travel to Perth with his family on Sunday as Mal Meninga and the Bears seek to persuade him to join the NRL's 18th club.
Perth wants to make the Canterbury Bulldogs star the organisation's public face and its first million-dollar player.
Burton is a free agent with 12 months left on his contract. News Corp reported the Bears could offer him five years at $1 million per season, requiring an immediate release.
A four-year agreement would instead have him join in 2028 and remain through 2031.
Danny Weidler reported that former teammates Toby Sexton and Josh Curran will also help with the pitch.
Sexton played alongside Burton from 2024 to 2025, before Canterbury signed Lachlan Galvin and brought him over during the season.
Before Galvin's arrival, Burton and Sexton had helped the Bulldogs reach the top of the NRL ladder.