Brodie Grundy to sign seven-year contract with Collingwood to stay a Magpie for life
EXCLUSIVE: Collingwood’s desperate pursuit to retain star ruckman Brodie Grundy is all but over, with the All-Australian big man to sign one of the biggest contracts in AFL history.
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Collingwood has bowed to Brodie Grundy’s contract demands, agreeing to a mega seven-year deal for their prized ruckman.
Grundy, 25, will earn in the vicinity of $1 million a year which will make him the highest-paid ruckman in the history of the game.
Grundy, who was to be a free agent at the end of the 2020 season, is currently holidaying in South America. He will return to Australia in early December.
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Minor details are still being finalised, but the Herald Sun can reveal Grundy has agreed to stay a Magpie, most likely for his entire career.
The bumper seven-year commitment to Grundy is the first of four major signings the Magpies have to complete.
Forward Jordan De Goey, defender Darcy Moore and skipper Scott Pendlebury all have expiring contracts at the end of the 2020 season.
The three of them will command salaries estimated to be between $700,000 and $1 million a year.
Rise & Shineeeee © #AmazonRainforest pic.twitter.com/oPYKXF7Lvv
— Brodie Grundy (@brodiegrundy) November 6, 2019
It’s been reported Collingwood’s salary cap is bulging, but Pies list manager Ned Guy recently told the Herald Sun the club could “absolutely” keep its list together.
In recent days, the Pies announced the re-signings of veterans Travis Varcoe and Ben Reid.
Tim Broomhead, Rupert Wills and Jack Madgen have also agreed to one-year deals, with Broomhead remaining on the rookie list and Madgen as a Category B rookie.
The signature of Grundy was significant because Grundy had said previously he would consider moving back to South Australia to be closer to his family if a seven-year deal was not in the offering.
It was reported the Pies initially offered Grundy a three-year deal.
Grundy, who finished sixth in the Brownlow Medal, wanted a seven-year deal from the outset.
At the start of October as contract talks were being held, Grundy said: “I am an open book and I am pretty transparent and I have been pretty transparent all the way through.
“The conversation is there … if they (Collingwood) would like it.
“I feel really comfortable at the football club.
“It is something which is a negotiation … it is a negotiation for a reason.”
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Coach Nathan Buckley will be delighted, although he gave the impression in August a seven-year deal would be a stretch.
“It really is horses for courses, but longer contracts, whether it’s a philosophy or whether it’s the club having to find a happy medium between where it sits and what the player wants, but at any given point we need to make decisions that are best for the club,’’ Buckley told 3AW.
“We’re going to look after Brodie as much as we possibly can and he’s aware of that as well.”
Buckley also said long-term contracts can “lock up a lot of your salary cap”.