Hawthorn believes its best offer for Lance Franklin is $7.5 million behind Greater Western Sydney's deal

REVEALED: HAWTHORN believes its current best offer for Lance Franklin is $7.5 million behind Greater Western Sydney's six-year deal.

HAWTHORN believes its current best offer for Lance Franklin is a stunning $7.5 million behind Greater Western Sydney's six-year $2 million-a-season deal.

The Hawks have offered Franklin a deal worth $4.5 million over four years, enough to make him clearly their highest-paid player.

GWS is yet to formally offer Franklin a contract, but Hawthorn believes the package eventually presented to him will be as large as $12 million over six seasons.

That will include a $1.5 million per season football component, plus a potential $500,000 per season in a marketing/ambassador role from the AFL that can only be arranged after he signs.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou reaffirmed today that Franklin could win an ambassador role if he makes the switch.

"We have no role in attracting any player from any club to another club," Demetriou told 3AW.

"I have said though that if Buddy Franklin decides to go to another club, or if any player decides to another club, if there was a legitimate role for an ambassador for a particular reason or purpose, the AFL would look at it on its merits."

Demetriou said the AFL had a number of ambassadors who were paid by the league, including 11 multicultural ambassadors, and offered examples including Karmichael Hunt, Israel Folou and, in the past, Tony Lockett.

"Normally these players do stay, if he does, great, if he decides to go elsewhere ... and after that event someone approaches the AFL to see whether there's an ambassadorial role we would look at it on its merits. He might not want to be an ambassador."

Hawthorn could eventually be pushed to a fifth season for Franklin if it was the only impediment to him signing on.

See Buddy's options

But as the club privately concedes the massive gulf between figures makes it hard to keep Franklin, even premiership champion Shane Crawford has told the Herald Sun he believes he is gone.

The AFL confirmed yesterday the current compensation formula would almost certainly be retained this year, meaning Hawthorn could receive a pick as low as 20 for Franklin leaving.

Hawthorn's list management team is already scrutinising the free agency market.

They would be certain to make an aggressive play for a rival if Franklin departed given the $1 million salary cap hole it creates.

See all the Round 13 line-ups