They are being offered these ludicrous amounts because that is what all 16 clubs in the NRL must truly believe they are worth. Not because they are demanding it. Go to work tomorrow and demand your boss double or triple your salary/wage, because you think you're worth it. let us know how that works out for you! On the other hand, if your boss does think you are worth the big pay rise, and he thinks you may go to another employer, maybe you'll get your rise. I bet you and your family would be happy with that! You'd have done what is best for your family!!
In all honesty, and in my opinion only, $800 000 should be top dollar for any player. However, if you can get more...
What I find even more silly than all this money talk is the old, "We should only have players that put in big games every week" crap. You know what? Just because you lose a game doesn't mean your players weren't putting in enough. Sometimes, you can try too hard to pull a game out of the fire resulting in dropped balls, forward passes, kicks out on the full, poor reads in defence, injuries etc.. it's the nature of the sport and the competitive nature of the players who feel they need to take control and lead the team to success.
If you have played the game at any reasonable level, and many of us probably have, you'd know that no player ever takes the field with a "she'll be right, we'll just see how it goes" mindset. I know I never did, and I was nowhere near NRL level. So, at NRL level I'd say every player wants to win. Every player wants his next game to be his best. Every player is proud for the opportunity to represent their club. It boggles the mind to read how some supporters don't see that, or simply believe it to be untrue.