Giants star Josh Kelly reportedly knocks back millions to re-sign with GWS

AFL star Josh Kelly has reportedly signed a first of its kind contract, that could trigger one of the richest deals the game has seen.

The ball is very much in Josh Kelly’s court.

Josh Kelly has reportedly signed an unprecedented contract extension with the Giants that could see him locked in at the club for more than 10 years.

A series of reports on Wednesday morning claimed GWS will confirm the contract extension in a major announcement at 10am (AEST) in Sydney.

As first reported by The Daily Telegraph, Kelly has knocked back the lure to chase a monster free agency deal from a rival club to remain at the Giants.

However, the contract comes with a catch for the Giants.

Kelly becomes the first player in the game’s history to have the power to activate a clause in his favour to extend the deal by a further four seasons, ultimately making the contract a potential six-year deal. According to reports, the deal has further clauses which could see Kelly and the Giants trigger additional extensions down the track, making the contract a potential 10-year monster deal.

The 24-year-old midfielder’s new contract is flexible and gives the option to extend between “six to 10 seasons”.

However, the deal could also see Kelly return to the open market in two years’ time — should he choose not to activate the first additional clause during the 2021 season.

AFL.com.au, however, reports there is no guarantee that Kelly will remain with the club and he will essentially be a free agent again in two years’ time.

Despite the danger of losing Kelly in two years’ time, the contract was trumpeted by footy commentators as a massive coup for the Giants and a “revolutionary deal” for the game.

Josh Kelly is off the market, Giants will formally announce the deal today. Will contain the unique option I floated and have been looking into on @mmmhotbreakfast and @talkingfooty

— Tom Browne (@TomBrowne7) April 30, 2019

Well done to @GWSGIANTS Huge coup securing the most sought-after player on the open market in recent times, Josh Kelly. Giants press conference set for 10am today. Does it encourage Stephen Coniglio to stay? You'd have to think so.

— Sam Edmund (@SammyHeraldSun) April 30, 2019

REPORT: Josh Kelly has re-signed with GWS on revolutionary deal | https://t.co/J4CNMG6qLq | #AFL pic.twitter.com/omdbM55fVI

— SEN 1116 (@1116sen) April 30, 2019

"Two years plus an option that could keep him there from 6-10 years."@Stevo7AFL on the GWS signing Kelly #RSNBreakfastClub

— RSN Breakfast Club (@RSNBreakfast) April 30, 2019

It was reported recently that the Giants and Kelly’s management were trying to work with the AFL to allow Kelly to have a timeline with which he can activate the contract clause that would extend his deal to the six-year mark.

It is a bitter blow to the rest of the game’s reportedly cashed-up free agency players North Melbourne, St Kilda and Carlton, who all reportedly offered richer and longer-term deals.

St Kilda champion Nathan Burke on Tuesday night also said the Giants were right to move heaven and earth to get the deal done.

“Good luck to him, because if I was the Giants I’d be trying to do that deal as well,” Burke told Fox Sports News’ Bill and Boz.

“As we know every other team would love to have Josh Kelly. If you’ve got him in your team, you’d want to keep him there.

“I’m not sure what ‘signing for life’ means. Is it up to 30, 34, 35? How long can this young fella play? I’m not too sure, that’s an interesting one.

“But anytime you can get him to sign on the dotted line, that’s great for the Giants.”