The AFL‘s highest paid players have been revealed with the top earner bringing in $1.5 million a season despite having failed to help his team win a premiership.
Australia’s most popular football code had to tighten its belt this season after the coronavirus pandemic cut the number of games and forced many to be played in empty stadiums through 2020.
However the ‘back-ending’ of contracts – in which players get paid more in the latter years of their deals as the salary cap expands – meant few players had to take paycuts as a result, and several pocketed more than $1 million a season.
The lockouts did not have as much impact on the AFL as it would on other sports as its chief revenue source is television rights, and that money kept flowing in to fund the lucravite contracts unveiled by the Herald-Sun.
From AFL bad boys to dual Brownlow Medallists and ‘inspirational’ captains these are the highest paid athletes in the sport:
Lance Franklin
Lance Franklin has taken out the top gong with the Sydney Swans player commanding a $1.5million contract
The eye-watering salary is well-deserved with the 34-year-old AFL legend becoming the sixth player to kick 1,000 goals
Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin, the Sydney Swans star forward since he left Hawthorn, commanded a $1.5 million contract in 2021 – easily the richest in the AFL.
It is the penultimate year of his nine-year $10 million contract – that the Swans had hoped would lead them to more premiership glory.
But while the eye-watering salary is just desserts for a forward who is the sixth player to kick 1,000 goals in a career, Sydney has come up short in its quest for a flag.
Despite his busy career, the 34-year-old Franklin still manages to find plenty of time to play the doting husband to his model wife Jesinta Franklin and the loving father to his daughter Tullulah, one, and four-month-old son Rocky.
The family make an effort to spend as much time together as possible and exercise with each other on a regular basis.
‘We love to exercise as a family as a great way to all bond together, going for walks and taking the kids to the park is something we love doing,’ Franklin said.
Jeremy McGovern
Jeremy McGovern comes in a close second with the West Coast defender making $1.25million a season
2018 was a particularly good year for the AFL giant as he not only helped his team clinch a premiership win, but also broke the record for most intercept marks in a season
Jeremy McGovern comes in second with the West Coast defender making $1.25 million a season.
The masterful intercept defender has signed on with the team for six years and is contracted until 2024.
2018 was a particularly good year for the AFL giant as he not only helped his team clinch a premiership win, but also broke the record for most intercept marks in a season.
A knee injury has forced McGovern off the field with the star player missing out on important games against Essendon, Carlton and Richmond in June this year, but the Eagles will be hoping he can quickly regain his best before the finals.
Dustin Martin
Dustin Martin is a tied second with the Richmond player making $1.25million a season
The three-time Norm Smith Medal winning player is regarded as one of the greatest athletes to play in the sport
Dustin Martin is a tied second, with the Richmond superstar making $1.25 million a season.
A three-time winner of the Norm Smith Medal as the best player in a grand final – is already regarded as one of the all-time greats and is a lock not only for the Hall of Fame but to be elevated to ‘legend’ status.
Martin’s heavily tattooed appearance and his father’s deportation from Australia has cultivated a ‘bad boy’ image but he keeps his personal life very guarded.
He rarely gives interviews, explaining he ‘doesn’t care’ what other people think about him, while acknowledging that he is ‘imperfect’.
Nat Fyfe
Nat Fyfe comes in fourth place with Fremantle captain making $1.1million a season
He became the 15th player in AFL history to win the Brownlow Medal twice in 2015
Nat Fyfe comes in fourth place with Fremantle captain making $1.1 million a season.
He became just the 15th player in AFL history to win the Brownlow Medal twice in 2015.
His prestige on the field has earned him a long list of accolades including two Leigh Mattthews Trophies as the players’ player of the year.
Fyfe, regarded by his teammates as an ‘inspirational’ captain, is also a three-time All Australian and three-time Doig Medallist.
He signed on to play for Fremantle in 2017 and his six-year contract will end in 2023.
Brodie Grundy
Brodie Grundy is the fifth highest paid player with the Collingwood star raking in $975,000 a season
Brodie Grundy is the fifth highest paid player with the Collingwood star raking in $975,000 a season.
Grundy used to play basketball as a youngster growing up in Adelaide but made the switch to the AFL in 2010.
He was awarded the Herald Sun Player of the Year award and the Copeland Medal for Collingwood’s best and fairest in 2018.
He has signed on to play for Collingwood until 2027.
His ongoing neck issues have led to a rocky start to the 2021 season with the AFL star forced to miss out on several games.