Shane Crawford reveals offers from Port Adelaide and Sydney to lure him from the Hawks

Hawks legend Shane Crawford has revealed he turned down a lucrative contract to join Port Adelaide, who threw money and McDonald’s at the Brownlow Medallist. He also confessed that he was on the cusp of joining the Swans late into his illustrious career, before one result changed his mind.

Shane Crawford has revealed he turned down a lucrative contract to join Port Adelaide and, later in his career, an offer from Sydney.

The Hawthorn great, who ended as a one-club player with a premiership, was courted by Port with an offer of $800,000 a year, the club captaincy plus a share in McDonald’s.

“I got offered to go to Port Adelaide, when I was a player, I was probably only three years in,’’ he says during a chat with Natasha Exelby on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

“Port Adelaide were just starting. They said, you’ll be the captain of Port Adelaide. They said we will give you a five-year contract, we’re going to give you a share in McDonald’s.

“But, I was so connected to Hawthorn, I was like, ‘sh-t, I should be leaving really for the ...’ I should have left. I couldn’t, but I knew that was a game changer right there.”

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Shane Crawford chasing Stuart Dew, during Dew’s stint with Port Adelaide. The two played together for Hawthorn, but could’ve teamed up in South Australia had things gone differently.

Crawford said he was also offered a deal by Sydney in his last 3-4 years.

He said he didn’t take up the Port Adelaide offer because he had made new friends at the Hawks.

“I had all new friends at Hawthorn, I felt like I was very much part of the club,’’ he said.

“They offered $800,000 a year and back then that was good money, compared with what I was getting at Hawthorn, would have been $300,000 or something, plus leadership, plus McDonald’s franchise. Imagine if I still had that McDonald’s today.

Sydney’s 2005 drought-breaking premiership win cost them Shane Crawford.

“Not regrets but like, oh sh-t that was a pretty good opportunity. If I had have gone there, they came in, they won a premiership.”

Crawford said the Sydney offer came at an interesting time.

“I was going to go to Sydney, my last 3-4 years. I met with Sydney, I was so over Hawthorn, because we were changing coaches and whatever. So I met with Sydney and I first agreed to go. I needed to go and walk away from all the leadership stuff. I needed to go and concentrate on myself and finishing enjoying footy, and I was really excited and then Sydney won their Grand Final about month later, and I said ‘I’m not going’.

“Because they won, if they had of lost ... Because they won, I just knew it wasn’t the right time to go now.”