Just hours after Brisbane's four-year offer was announced, the Storm reportedly remained privately confident of holding onto the coach that led them to two NRL grand final triumphs and two stripped premierships.
Storm chief executive Dave Donaghy said Bellamy has been presented with an offer to stay at the club he's led since 2003.
Bellamy's contract with the reigning premiers is up at the end of this season.
"Craig has a significant three-year deal on the table with us. That's been there for a month," Donaghy told NRL.com.
A three-year deal reportedly worth $3.75 million leaves Bellamy with an incredibly difficult decision and both his suitors on tenterhooks.
The ramifications for missing out on Bellamy are massive for both of them.
FAN BACKLASH AT STAKE FOR BRONCOS
Brisbane has already left itself open for an angry backlash from fans over the sorry treatment of the club's greatest servant.
If Bennett is forced out before the end of his contract — which doesn't expire until the end of the 2019 season — many Broncos fans will be up in arms about the rough manner in which the 68-year-old has been put before the guillotine.
Fox League NRL 360 host Paul Kent reports the Broncos are prepared to pay out the final year of Bennett's contract next season if Bellamy signs with the NRL's biggest club.
That would likely force the club to cough up close to the entire $900,000 Bennett is reportedly set to earn next season.
However, Fox Sports reported on Tuesday the Broncos have a $12 million war chest in the bank and will have no second thoughts about trying to cover Bennett's pay out and Bellamy's massive $1.4 million per-season deal.
Bennett reportedly has his heart set on remaining at the Broncos, despite the club's decision to snub him for Bellamy.
The Courier Mail reported on Tuesday Bennett will not walk away and will force the club to sack him if they don't want him in charge in 2019.
The only thing that would be more abhorrent to Broncos fans than axing Bennett would be now failing to deliver Bellamy.
The Broncos' reputation as the best run club in the NRL wouldn't stack up if they leave Bennett disgruntled and are forced to begin their search again for Bennett's 2019 replacement.
Such a failure would not be easy to explain to the club's members with Bennett left to wear the black eye.
Even flirting with the concept of trying to force Bennett out has left a sour taste in the mouths of some NRL commentators.
ENTIRE CLUB DECIMATED IF BELLAMY WALKS ON STORM
With Cooper Cronk gone and the futures of superstars Billy Slater and Cameron Smith beyond this season unknown — NRL 360 Host Paul Kent has declared he holds genuine fears for the future of the Storm if Craig Bellamy joins walkout.
Smith and Slater are out-of-contract at the end of this season, with reports last month indicating Smith is set to sign a one-year extension until the end of the 2019 season.
All bets could be off if their long-term mentor walks out.
"They are in trouble," Kent said.
"I think they are in a lot of trouble if Craig Bellamy leaves. They're a team who has won two premierships in the past eight years down there. They've had two (premierships) stripped.
"They've made the finals every year since 2005. They still don't turn a profit every year.
"They are still trying to gain traction in Melbourne when they've been the five-star team in the NRL for more than a decade.
"If you lose Bellamy before you lose Cameron Smith and Billy Slater, who only have two or three years left, where does that leave them? They don't have a marquee player."
Storm assistant coach Adam O'Brien looms as the man likely to take over from Bellamy if he does make a move to Brisbane.
In AFL heartland it remains to be seen if the Storm could survive a season at the bottom of the ladder.
It's a perfect storm for Bellamy. The huge ramifications of failing to hold onto Bellamy could force the Storm to break the bank to hold onto the former NSW State of Origin coach.
However, the embarrassment of failing to land Bellamy's signature could just as easily prompt the Broncos to up their already-ridiculous offer.
Bellamy's interest in the Brisbane job is reportedly genuine. Brisbane's emerging crop of young stars is reportedly head-and-shoulders above every other nursery in the game.
With the Storm looking at the prospect of being without Smith and Slater in a couple of seasons, Brisbane's promising talent pool of Payne Haas, Tevita Pangai Junior, David Fifita, Katoni Staggs, Jamayne Isaako and Jaydn Su'A must be looking pretty enticing to Bellamy right now.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR EVERYONE ELSE
Every NRL coach must have felt a cold shiver run down their spine upon learning the news that at least one of the NRL's biggest coaching stars will be on the market for 2019.
While there are currently no open coaching positions in the NRL in 2019, all that will change in an instant if it eventuates that Broncos mentor Wayne Bennett is forced out and once more a gun for hire in 2019.
If Bellamy chooses not to remain at Melbourne, the Storm would be the only club with an open slot for Bennett next year.
Despite Bennett remaining hungry to remain at Brisbane and the NRL, there has already been speculation surrounding an open position at Super League club Wigan.
Bennett and Bellamy are both scheduled to hold press conferences on Wednesday to respond to the bombshell reports on Tuesday night.
