Patrick Cripps has agreed to stay at Carlton

One of Carlton’s biggest stars is set to turn his back on the open market and sign a new deal with the club. But he is also leaving money on the table.

Patrick Cripps looks on after a Carlton loss. Picture: Getty Images

Carlton star Patrick Cripps has turned his back on the free agency market and will commit to the Blues for at least the next four seasons.

Cripps’ decision to stay and lock into a new deal – which will take him through until he turns 30 – will at least take some of the heat off the Blues, who have won only three games this season with the co-captain struggling for form due to a back injury.

The Herald Sun understands the Blues hope to make an announcement confirming the new deal within the next week, with the parties haggling on the final few clauses.

Cripps’ deal could still extend to five years but only the formalities of the contract are yet to be ticked off after significant progress in recent weeks.

When Carlton chief executive Cain Liddle said a new deal was only weeks away, the parties had not yet considered the tenure or monetary value of the deal.

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The Herald Sun understands that, as with previous contracts, he has not taken top dollar but is content to give the club cap space to continue building its list.

His existing deal pays him over $800,000 per season but does not hit one million dollars per year.

This will allow Carlton to move on to their next key target in trying to lock away a new deal for exciting young forward Harry McKay.

Co-captain Cripps has endured a torrid season with a form slump as well as a back fracture, which the club only admitted weeks after he had recovered.

He had attracted strong interest from West Coast in an attempt to lure him back to his native Western Australia.

Patrick Cripps and Harry McKay celebrate a goal for the Blues. Picture: Getty Images

But the Eagles had significant salary cap issues, which meant they could never match a Carlton deal.

The 26-year-old has always maintained he wanted to leave money on the table for the club to continue its premiership build, keen to be there from the ground up as the Blues work towards that elusive 17th premiership.

A four-year deal would see Cripps come out of contract as a free agent at the end of 2025, which would allow him to still have some cache for likely suitors.

Cripps made clear in the pre-season he wanted to stay at Carlton to build something special.

“I’m really happy at the club, I’m not going to put a time-frame on it, because last year I obviously wasn’t in Melbourne,” Cripps said.

“We’re going through the process now (with my management) but I really enjoy my time at the club and it’s been a lean few years but I really feel like we’re building something special.”

“I reckon over in the west every person I asked was an Eagles or Dockers recruiter, they were in the supermarkets, but I’m really happy at the club.

“You always miss family and friends but I’ve been over here, this will be my eighth year now, so you start to build a really good network over here.

“I’ve got a lot of good mates over here and the club has basically been a second family to me.”