AFL Rich 100: GWS free agent Jeremy Cameron footy’s biggest earner in 2020
Jeremy Cameron’s back-ended monster contract couldn’t have come at a worse time, with AFL stars having their salaries slashed by the COVID pay cuts. See what every player on the Top 100 rich list is giving up.
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Jeremy Cameron will take the game’s biggest hit this season as he weighs up a massive decision on his future.
The Greater Western Sydney gun forward is the No.1 earner in the AFL in 2020 with a salary of $1.5 million as part of a heavily back-ended contract.
But the jackpot waiting at the end of the rainbow for Cameron in his ninth season has been slashed by almost one third due to this year’s COVID-19 pay cuts.
In terrible timing for the Coleman Medallist, Cameron will forgo at least $420,000 of his guaranteed salary after playing for much less earlier in the five-year mega deal.
AFL RICH 100: SCROLL DOWN TO SEE FOOTY’S HIGHEST EARNERS IN OUR INTERACTIVE
The back-ended contracts have been a backbone of the Giants’ list management strategy which will see stars including captain Stephen Coniglio and gun goal kicker Toby Greene play for well under market rate this season.
Greene is believed to be getting paid less than $550,000 this season, while Collingwood superstar Brodie Grundy and Richmond spearhead Tom Lynch are also on less than $600,000 this year as part of back-ended deals like Cameron’s.
Both of their deals will rise sharply in coming years with Grundy believed to be on about an average $950,000 a year over the course of his latest six-year contract.
Grundy’s back-ended deal helped alleviate some pressure on Collingwood’s salary cap in the short term as the club looks to strike similar blockbuster deals with Jordan De Goey and Darcy Moore.
After Cameron, superstars Lance Franklin (Sydney), Dustin Martin (Richmond), Nat Fyfe (Fremantle) and Carlton recruit Jack Martin round out the top five of the Herald Sun’s top 100 AFL earners in 2020.
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Martin will earn an average $600,000 over the life of his deal but the first season was heavily front-ended at more than $1.1 million for the first year to help thwart a poaching raid from Melbourne in the pre-season draft.
But the move will end up costing Martin more than $300,000 due to the COVID-19 cut unless the AFL decide to reimburse these heavily-loaded front-ended and back-ended deals like Martin and Cameron’s.
Key player managers are pushing for a reimbursement in talks with the AFL due to the heavy impacts on player earnings this season.
Carlton superstar Patrick Cripps is on about $900,000 a year but his value is again expected to surge into the seven-figure bracket before his contract expires at the end of next season.
The Blues’ skipper also has a lifelong deal with Nike and is widely considered one of the most marketable players in the competition.
The Giants remain confident Cameron, who is the most sought-after free agent in the game this year, will turn down interest from Geelong, Essendon and Brisbane to stay up north.
As a free agent, the clubs can secure the prized goalkicker without giving anything up for him in a trade.
Cameron is yet to make public any decision on his future but can formalise a commitment with the Giants now that the player contract freeze has ended.
GWS want Cameron to sign a long-term deal of at least six seasons to ensure arguably its most important player and biggest star remains a one-club player.
Rival clubs at this point believe Cameron will stay, but would be buoyed if he makes a call to put off contract negotiations until the end of the compacted season through his manager Alex McDonald.
Former Giants football manager Wayne Campbell this week said “It would shock me if he left.”
“He just loves it, and he loves fishing and footy and he can do that up in Sydney. He is pretty low key and … he was one of the originals,” Campbell said.
“He just loves the footy club and likes the lifestyle and I wouldn’t imagine why there would be a reason to go.
“Nothing I’ve heard him talk (about) publicly in the last sort of six months ago or so would suggest that has changed.”
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Essendon has a close link to Cameron through one of his best mates in Bomber Devon Smith and could use him to replace Joe Daniher, while Geelong is on the lookout for a Tom Hawkins successor.
HOW IT WORKS
SALARY FIGURE
* Player’s contracted salary for 2020 to the best of our information. A number of players are in the same wage band. Salaries can alter depending on bonuses.
COVID SALARY
* Each AFL player is losing around 28 per cent of his 2020 contract salary because of COVID-19.
Originally published as AFL Rich 100: GWS free agent Jeremy Cameron footy’s biggest earner in 2020