AFL Rich List 2021: Which young star could become footy’s next millionaire?

They’re two of the finest young key position players in the game, but could Bulldog Aaron Naughton and Blue Jacob Weitering command $1 million per year? RICH LIST

On the day Max King tore his ACL playing school football, his twin brother Ben consoled him at halftime then went forward and kicked 10 goals.

Three years after the Haileybury Grammar centre half-back emerged from his brother’s shadow, he has leapfrogged him in the AFL’s rich list as well.

Gold Coast forward King’s third-year salary is understood to be $650,000 for 2021 as part of a deal negotiated for the third and fourth seasons of his AFL journey.

It is a mammoth sum for any young player and justified by the extraordinary potential of the high-marking forward.

It is yet another illustration of the power of the must-watch key forwards of the competition, who take the high-flying marks, fill reserved seats and win games with their athletic feats.

But King has also benefited from the go-home factor that non-Victorian clubs – especially those in expansion markets – have long bemoaned.

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE RICH 100 LIST BELOW

King joined fellow Gold Coast top-six picks Jack Lukosius (pick No. 2 in the 2018 national draft) and Izak Rankine (pick three) in signing bumper deals at the end of their debut seasons.

All of them had the pull of home as Adelaide outright threatened to keep knocking until local boys Lukosius and Rankine answered.

Lukosius’s salary is believed to be around $600,000 this year.

While it is big money for third-year players, the Suns must pay it given St Kilda continuously pitches deals to reunite Ben with his brother Max at Moorabbin.

Max King isn’t being short-changed at the Saints, his new four-year deal understood to be worth around $750,000 a year from next season onwards.

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Ben King and Max King are set to be on big money in the future. Picture: Michael Klein

WHO IS THE NEXT MILLIONAIRE?

The question is which of the AFL’s youngest crop will first hit the million dollar mark?

Sam Walsh’s third and fourth-year deal is believed to be worth around $500,000 and while the Blues will soon attempt to extend his deal past 2022 it won’t likely top seven figures.

Freakish Western Bulldogs forward Aaron Naughton and Carlton fullback Jacob Weitering both feature in the top echelon of the Herald Sun’s AFL Rich List, but not at $1 million-plus.

Both have signed extended deals that secure them long-term, with Naughton locked in until the end of 2024 and Weitering until the end of 2025.

Tim Taranto is in his fifth year as a star Greater Western Sydney midfielder and is understood to be earning $650,000-$700,000 this season.

While Max King has the nickname – “Winx” – and the hype at a Victorian club, it is Ben King who has the better chance to be a million-dollar player as early as 2023.

Despite a quiet patch in recent weeks the sky’s the limit and the suitors endless if he ever chooses to return to Melbourne.

After a 17-goal return in his debut year he improved with 25.20 in 2019 and had kicked 34.16 leading into Round 16 in 2021.

He is also a lethal finisher who maximises his opportunities in a lowly team.

Put it this way – if his management put a $5 million, five-year extension offer on the desk of Suns list manager Craig Cameron, would he sign it?

Surely, in a heartbeat.

It took until Tom Lynch’s fourth season at Gold Coast for him to kick more than 15 goals and yet he is at Richmond on a deal only a fraction short of $1 million per season.

Check back Sunday morning for the full list and for the top earner to be revealed.

Originally published as AFL Rich List 2021: Which young star could become footy’s next millionaire?