‘Holy hell’: Nathan Buckley shocks TV star with pay reveal

Former AFL great Nathan Buckley stunned one of his I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here castmates with a startling $400,000 reveal.

Former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley stunned one of his I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here castmates by revealing the average wage of AFL players.

Speaking to country musician Brooke McClymont during Tuesday’s episode, Buckley claimed the average annual salary for professional footballers was approximately $400,000.

McClymont was baffled. saying: “Holy hell!”

“It just blew my mind how much money there is in football,” she added later in the episode.

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Even the rookies are earning a healthy six-figure sum, according to Buckley.

“When you put your foot in the door, you’re on between 100 (thousand) and 150 (thousand) straight up,” he said.

In June last year, Buckley stepped down as coach of Collingwood after serving in the role for nearly 10 years.

He had mentored the side since succeeding Mick Malthouse in 2012, with the Magpies winning 117 games under his guidance with a 54 per cent winning record.

But Buckley is making bank on the Channel 10 program, with the 49-year-old reportedly commanding $300,000 for his I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here stint.

Last month, reports emerged of a salary stoush between Buckley and television presenter Beau Ryan, which led to the former NRL player threatening to quit the show.

According to the Herald Sun, Ryan was witnessed mid “meltdown” after Buckley informed him of his pay.

But Ryan denied the claims on Triple M’s Rush Hour with Wendell, Jude and Gus last week, saying: “There was no talk about money whatsoever, not in any circles I was in.”

Speaking on 2DayFM’s The Morning Crew, Ryan explained that he was unable to refute the claims because it would have verified he was a contestant on the program.

“The only currency I’m worried about in there is food,” he said.

“No one is talking about money whatsoever.”

Nathan Buckley with Brayden Maynard during his last match as Collingwood coach. Photo by Phil Hillyard

Earlier this week, Buckley addressed rumours he and glamorous girlfriend Alex Pike had split up.

“My view is that it’s none of anyone’s business,” Buckley told the Herald Sun when asked about his relationship status.

“Alex is an amazing person, a successful businesswoman and a great mother. Neither her, nor I are defined by our romantic connections.”

Pike, a mother of three, was signed to a modelling agency as a 12-year-old after taking part in a Dolly Cover Girl competition and originally planned to study journalism.

But the daughter of a pharmacist father and nurse mother opted to study nursing and ended up starting her career in a plastic surgery ward.

She has three sons — Spencer, Hudson and Jim.

Alex Pike and Nathan Buckley. Pic: Instagram

Originally published as ‘Holy hell’: Nathan Buckley shocks TV star with pay reveal