In Round 3 of the 2019 NRL season, Okunbor made his NRL debut for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs against the Wests Tigers, playing on the wing and having a solid match registering 214 metres in Canterbury's 22–8 win at Campbelltown Stadium. In the next match in Round 4 against the Melbourne Storm, Okunbor had a powerhouse performance, scoring his first NRL career try, and ran for a whopping 290 metres even busting through 2 tackles from Storm captain Cameron Smith during Canterbury's unlucky 18–16 loss at AAMI Park. On 29 April 2019, Okunbor was rewarded with a 2-year extension with Canterbury to the end of the 2021 season. On 21 May, Okunbor was ruled out for 6 weeks after suffering a toe ligament injury in Canterbury's Round 10 victory over the Gold Coast where Okunbor had scored 2 tries. Okunbor made a total of 10 appearances for Canterbury in the 2019 NRL season as the club finished 12th on the table. At one stage, Canterbury-Bankstown found themselves sitting last on the table and in real danger of finishing with the wooden spoon. However, for the third straight season, Canterbury achieved four upset victories in a row over Penrith, the Wests Tigers, South Sydney and Parramatta who were all competing for a place in the finals series and were higher on the table. Pay was credited with the late season revival as the side focused heavily on defence.
Controversy
On 10th March 2020, Okunbor was stood down by Canterbury just two days before the start of the 2020 NRL season after it was alleged he met two girls during a school visit on a pre-season trip to Port Macquarie earlier in March along with teammate Corey Harawira-Naera, whilst a sexual encounter was alleged to occur, the school girls were of the age of consent and there was no criminal investigation pending. Both players were asked to "show cause" why the NRL should not cancel or suspend their registrations as players. On 11th March 2020, it was revealed that Okunbor had used Instagram to contact one of the school girls. In a leaked message obtained through Fox Sports, Okunbor said to the school girl "Yeah had to have a good look, what are we doing tonight?". On the same day, it was revealed that because of the two players actions, new major sponsor Rashays had cancelled their $2 million sponsorship with the club. Rashays had signed on to become Canterbury's front of shirt sponsor. Rashays owner Rami Ykmour released a statement saying "It’s a shame two players could wreck it for everyone, It’s disgusting. It's repulsive, to be honest. That’s something else. If they sack them, I would stand by the club and the NRL’s decision". On 1st April 2020, Okunbor had his contract terminated by Canterbury-Bankstown and was also deregistered by the NRL. Canterbury released a statement saying "The NRL have today deregistered both Jayden Okunbor and Corey Harawira-Naera with immediate effect and as a result their playing contracts with the Bulldogs have been cancelled, The conduct of the two players, on the eve of our final trial match, demonstrated an unacceptable lack of respect for their teammates, their coach and club officials, our hosts in Port Macquarie and fans of the game everywhere". On 8th April 2020, both players opted to appeal their contract terminations at an NRL Appeals Tribunal. On 13th July 2020, the NRL Appeals Tribunal agreed that the punishment was too harsh, reversing the decision to deregister both Okunbor and Corey Harawira-Naera effective immediately. Okunbor was retrospectively given a 14 game ban, a $22,500 fine and a course of counselling / community service. Corey Harawira-Neara received a retrospective 10 game ban, and a $15,000 fine.
