The rapid growth of Marcus Bontempelli’s off-field empire ahead of next Bulldogs deal
From writing children’s books to opening a cafe and playing Nintendo with celebrities, Marcus Bontempelli’s off-field presence has never loomed larger – and it’s a blessing for the Bulldogs.
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On Friday, he was with Telstra. Last month, he was playing Mario Kart in a Nintendo ad with Patrick Cripps. The month before that he sat in the MCC Library for a live reading of the two children’s books he authored.
Marcus Bontempelli’s off-field presence has never loomed larger – and what a blessing that is for his club as it begins formal negotiations to secure arguably its greatest ever player.
The Western Bulldogs champion would never leave Whitten Oval.
He made it clear on Friday that a bright start on the field this season would not have been necessary to keep him at The Kennel.
But steadfast loyalty to a club does not lend itself to maximum bargaining power, and the Bulldogs simply cannot afford to pay Bontempelli what his on-field exploits warrant while keeping a strong list.
Formal talks due to kick off next week should in time reach terms that satisfy both parties, but the notable escalation in Bontempelli’s work away from football is where he is truly getting his worth.
The Bulldogs’ captain has always been assured, but quietly spoken, and only his outstanding football invited the spotlight early in his career.
In 2021, an AAMI ad campaign and the publication of his first “Little Bont” book marked the start of a period of rapid growth in his off-field portfolio, which now rivals the likes of Bailey Smith and Christian Petracca.
Since then, almost every post to Bontempelli’s Instagram account has been connected to a business or charity initiative – he even gave a plug to an indoor playground at Highpoint Shopping Centre early last year.
The six-time All-Australian is understood to be one of approximately 50 AFL and AFLW players to be given access to the league’s new $35m marketing fund, which should ensure his earnings for promoting the game along with club and league sponsors are well in excess of $500,000 per season.
That comes in addition to how he fares on his passion project with partner Neila Brenning – Arthur’s Milkbar in Kew, which opened at Easter after years of planning.
“(Contract talks are) going well ... it’s getting to the point now where things will start to open up, and those conversations will happen,” Bontempelli said on Friday as he helped launch the Telstra Touch and Track device for blind and low-vision football fans at Marvel Stadium.
“There was probably a lot going on in my life early on in the season, and hence why, probably no different to other years, I took my time a little bit with it, but those conversations will definitely start to take place pretty much as of next week.”
Bontempelli said a report that the announcement of a new deal was imminent had been “fairly untrue”, after the journalist apologised publicly for the error on Sunday.
His camp’s strong reaction to the report was an insight into the sensitivity of the talks as they try to maximise the earnings from the deal he said would likely take him “more or less into the twilight” of his career.
“I think the point now for us is, we know where we’re at – Tommy Petroro (his manager, from TGI Sport) and I know how we’ve continued to handle things, and the club, with all due respect as well – they’ve gone about it in the way we’ve wanted to,” he said.
“We’ve obviously been happy to wait and work through some other things, and the club’s been fully supportive of that.
“I think that just speaks to (how) our relationship, between me and the Western Bulldogs, has always been a strong one … full of trust, and respect and honour, too.”
That trust is what could allow the Bulldogs the room to pursue one more big fish to add to their line-up next season.
And if it means the exceptional Bont starts popping up on cereal boxes or commissioning a film adaptation of his books, who’s complaining?
Originally published as The rapid growth of Marcus Bontempelli’s off-field empire ahead of next Bulldogs deal
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