Canterbury will make Jamal Idris the face of the Bulldogs in a bid to foil Newcastle moves to lure the 20-year-old away from the NRL club.

The Bulldogs are currently in a tug-of-war with the Knights for the services of the flamboyant, giant centre, who is off-contract at the end of the season.

Idris is weighing up a deal worth $350,000 a season from the Knights, whose board has yet to decide whether to accept a new takeover bid from coal magnate Nathan Tinkler.

However, Bulldogs CEO Todd Greenberg believes by staying with the Sydney club and becoming a key part of their branding and merchandising, Idris' off-field earning potential would match any on-field offers from the Knights.

"Players like Jamal are very unique, he's got his own brand and he's got that in alignment with ours which I think is great," Greenberg told AAP.

"But we're not naive enough to think that this won't be first and foremost about commercial terms.

"What the dollars and cents add up to will always be a significant factor in any negotiation, but what we're saying is that they're not the sole factor."

Greenberg has been key in helping rebuild the image of the Bulldogs, who were struggling to find shirt sponsorship in 2008 when he arrived at the club.

The club is on target to reach 13,000 members ahead of their season-opener against the Wests Tigers and now among the most professionally run clubs in the Australian sporting market.

And with NSW hooker Michael Ennis and Test centre Josh Morris recently signing new deals at the club, Greenberg said they would now work overtime to convince Idris to stay.

"Our view is that we want to keep Jamal, he's an absolute priority for us," Greenberg added.

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