Dustin Martin, Scott Pendlebury and Travis Boak among the AFL players kicking goals in the business world

Ambassador roles, paid partnerships and media gigs are common among many high-profile footballers but they aren’t the only ways players are making extra cash.

In 2021, the average AFL player salary was $372,224.

However, some players are boosting their earnings even higher through off-field business interests.

While ambassador roles, paid partnerships and even media gigs are common among many high-profile players, some are involved in some more interesting off-field business pursuits as they set themselves up for life after footy.

Here are some of the players who are kicking goals in the business world.

DUSTIN MARTIN (RICHMOND)

The 2017 Brownlow Medal winner has done some well-publicised work as an ambassador for Bonds underwear and is also an ambassador for Archies Footwear.

But what you might not know is that he is also heavily involved in commercial property.

Companies jointly owned by Martin and his manager Ralph Carr – including some that also include Queensland businessman Chris Bissiotis – have spent more than $16m buying properties in suburbs including Richmond and Abbotsford since 2016.

The properties are often old and disused warehouses and office sites which are renovated into New York-style modern warehouses and then leased out to new tenants.

Martin also has his own subscription-based app called ‘DRIP’.

The Tigers star was one of the AFL’s top-earning players in 2022, with an estimated salary of between $1.2 and $1.3 million.

Dustin Martin has done a lot of work with Bonds.

TRAVIS BOAK (PORT ADELAIDE)

Unlike Dustin Martin, the Power veteran is more than just an underwear model or ambassador.

Boak is the co-founder of Rogers Underwear, alongside his cousin Brent and Brent’s wife Cherie Dixon.

The brand was launched in 2018 and is named after Boak’s late father, Roger.

Rogers Underwear stocks men’s and women’s lines and aims to provide “comfort, style and fit at the forefront of design”.

Travis Boak is a co-founder of Rogers Underwear. Picture: Damian Shaw

JEREMY McGOVERN (WEST COAST)

At 30 years old, the star West Coast defender looks to have a few good years left in him yet.

However, McGovern is already well set up for life after football.

He is a co-owner and director of a Perth-based plumbing business called West End Plumbing, which provides residential and commercial plumbing services.

The business was set up in 2015 in partnership with McGovern’s friend Darcy Reader.

MAX GAWN (MELBOURNE)

The Demons’ captain has dabbled in a few hospitality businesses over the years.

He is currently a co-owner of East End Wine Bar, which is set in a former auction house in Hawthorn East.

Gawn is also a co-owner of Motor, a retro-styled bistro in a former car garage in Hawthorn which opened in October 2022.

RORY SLOANE (ADELAIDE)

The Adelaide captain missed most of the 2022 season with an ACL injury, but was still keeping busy off the field.

Sloane is a co-owner of The Alma Tavern in Adelaide, alongside Crows football director Mark Ricciuto and Adelaide forward Taylor Walker.

In 2022, Sloane also helped launched Sherrin Face Footys, a partnership between himself, Geelong premiership player James Podsiadly and football maker Sherrin.

The footballs aim to assist with coaching while “also being fun and engaging” for kids who are learning to kick.

James Podsiadly and Rory Sloane. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

SCOTT PENDLEBURY (COLLINGWOOD)

The Collingwood champion is fast building a business empire under the banner of ‘Pendlebury Brands’.

In 2016, Pendlebury and his wife Alex opened the Progression Fitness Club in Cremorne, alongside co-owner Ben Scolyer.

In 2021, the gym was rebranded as FitHouse.

The Pendlebury’s also have their own limited edition wine range and are ambassadors for Dineamic, a ready-made meal service.

Scott and Alex Pendlebury have a number of business interests. Picture: Stuart Milligan

DYLAN GRIMES (RICHMOND)

In 2016, the Tigers defender purchased Mount Macedon Winery, which he operates with his wife Elisha.

The boutique winery and restaurant has become a popular destination for wine and food lovers and also hosts plenty of weddings and other functions.

“My partner, Elisha, is in the wedding industry and we sort of just said to each other, ‘Let’s try and align the two – my passion with the country and her passion with the wedding industry and see if we can make a go out of both with the one place’,” Grimes said in 2018.

“We found this place and absolutely fell in love.”

TOM MITCHELL (COLLINGWOOD), LACHIE NEALE (BRISBANE), PATRICK CRIPPS (CARLTON), MATTHEW ROWELL (GOLD COAST) ERIN PHILLIPS (PORT ADELAIDE AFLW)

Five of the biggest ball magnets across the AFL and AFLW launched their own app in 2021, appropriately named ‘Ball Magnets’.

The free training app is designed to “improve your AFL skills, game awareness and fitness by training with the competition’s best players”.

TRENT COTCHIN (RICHMOND)

The former Tigers skipper has long looked for positives in football and life and founded the Posisocks brand with his wife Brooke to try and make a “positive difference in people’s lives”.

The brand was launched in 2020, with the “comfy and cool socks” carrying positive messages on them with the aim of inspiring a positive mindset when you put them on in the morning.

Cotchin is also an investor in One Two Boxing, a training gym that offers “high energy, boxing inspired fitness workouts” and has locations in Melbourne and Adelaide.

Trent Cotchin with his wife Brooke and their kids after launching the Posisocks brand. Picture: Tim Carrafa

TOM JONAS (PORT ADELAIDE)

The Power captain is another player who is trying his hand in the Australian wine market.

He is the managing director of Barossa Valley wine producer ‘Hey Diddle Wines’, a business he created with former Port Adelaide teammate Brad Ebert and avid winemaker Ben Chipman.

The company produced its first vintage in 2017, which was a Barossa Shiraz.

It now produces a range of both red and white wines and offers a ‘Wine Club’.

LIAM HENRY (FREMANTLE)

The young Dockers forward was still at boarding school when he started a business with two friends creating and selling Indigenous inspired ties.

Former Fremantle-listed player Isaiah Butters was one of those friends, who is also part of the business, which is cleverly called ‘Tied to Culture’.

Former Dockers coach Ross Lyon wore one of the ties to the club’s Christmas Gala Ball in 2018, with Henry having been part of Fremantle’s Next Generation Academy at that stage.

BRODY MIHOCEK (COLLINGWOOD)

Whiplash cafe in Hawthorn was the brainchild of former Collingwood defender Jordan Roughead and his friend Jordan Faulkner.

However, Magpies forward Mihocek is one of the other business partners along with Nathan Murphy, Callum Brown and Eamon Sheahan.

Housed in a building on Auburn Rd that was formerly a milk bar, Whiplash is now a trendy north-side style cafe in the eastern suburbs.

A number of Collingwood players are involved in Whiplash Café. Picture: Alex Coppel

JAMES HARMES (MELBOURNE)

The Demons premiership midfielder teamed up with a friend and local artist Luke to create the unusually named ‘FatNutt Customs’.

The company sells custom made and modern artwork, including graphic-style images of sports stars, movie stars, singers and other celebrities.

But how did the company get its name?

“My nickname’s ‘The Nutt’,” Harmes told the Dyl and Friends podcast in 2021.

“Luke was a little bit overweight. He’s lost heaps of weight now. But we came up with the name ‘FatNutt’. At the start we thought we’d do it for a bit of fun and see how it goes but it’s taken off and it’s doing pretty well.”

STEPHEN CONIGLIO (GWS GIANTS)

The former Giants captain studied business administration at university and always had a keen interest in hospitality.

In 2016 he helped set up Macelleria, a restaurant brand which now has three locations across Sydney and Melbourne.

Coniglio is a part-owner and director of the business, which is marketed as ‘The butcher that cooks for you’.

BRANDON ELLIS (GOLD COAST)

The two-time premiership Tiger turned Suns midfielder owns a Hoppers Crossing gym called Crew.

The fitness centre was launched in December 2021.

Ellis also co-founded UNCLE JACK watches with business entrepreneur Robbie Ball in 2014, which was sold off in 2020.

Ellis joined the Suns on a five-year deal at the end of 2019.

Dylan Grimes operates Mount Macedon Winery with his wife Elisha. Picture: Michael Klein

WILL ASHCROFT (BRISBANE LIONS)

One of the newest players in the AFL, the highly-rated 2022 draftee has already launched his own business – WASH Performance and Wellbeing.

“The key pillars are around training and elite performance, nutrition, mental application, wellbeing, life balance and leadership,” Ashcroft said.

“I’m just coming out of the pathway and all the content is what I do and what makes me tick. It’s not necessarily a business early on, but more so a platform and a community where I can tell my story and people can take however much they want and apply that to themselves to get to their own goals.

“I want to give back a little bit of what I know now and what I’ll continue to learn over the journey.”

MATT DE BOER (GWS GIANTS)

Not only has de Boer played more than 200 AFL games, but he also has a bachelor’s degree in commerce and a keen interest in financial markets.

In 2020, he founded Athletic Ventures, an investment syndicate for elite athletes wanting to invest in start-up businesses.

De Boer is the managing partner of the business, which is already backing some fast-growing brands including Guzman y Gomez and Who Gives A Crap?