Top earners: The 20 AFL players who rake in the most money

The AFL revealed in February that 22 footballers made at least $1.2 million last year among the 58 who banked $1 million or more.

As always when the league shares that data, the identities of the players remained a secret, unlike the major American sports leagues, such as the NBA, NFL and MLB, where salaries are public in both amount and duration, including performance bonuses.

But after revealing the 50 highest-earning Australian athletes earlier this week, where no Australian rules footballers made the list, we have turned our attention to the AFL.

This masthead spoke to industry experts with specific knowledge on playing contracts and commercial deals to produce a list of the top 20 earners in the AFL last year.

Player salaries are, for the most part, closely guarded secrets in the AFL industry, so any list such as this one involves an element of estimating – from what players make the cut to exact dollar figures. But after detailed research and investigation, we have landed on a format that shows a range for each footballer’s salary.

Below are the parameters we set to construct the list – which explains why some names you might expect to see are not included. Click to expand for the answers.

Clayton Oliver was one of the best-performed midfielders in the past decade, including playing in a premiership, winning four best-and-fairests and being a triple All-Australian. That is why Melbourne handed him a seven-year extension to remain at the club until 2030. However, things went awry in recent seasons, and the Demons sent him to GWS for little return, while agreeing to pay a good chunk of his remaining salary, which was estimated at $1.3 million last year. Oliver has a boots deal with ASICS, but most of his earnings come from his playing contract.

Adelaide’s star skipper enjoyed another strong season in 2025, earning All-Australian honours for a second time and making history as the first Crow to win the club’s best-and-fairest award three years in a row. Being club champion typically results in a performance bonus, which contributed to Jordan Dawson’s playing salary reaching about $1.3 million. His commercial partners include adidas and Toyota, while he is a director and ambassador for not-for-profit charity organisation Ladder, which helps at-risk youth.

The industry word is that Shai Bolton started his Dockers tenure on a front-ended salary of about $1.3 million, which ensures the ex-Tigers star slots into our top 20 earners from last year. Fremantle traded three top-20 picks to secure Bolton – with selection 14 and a future third-rounder coming back – in the hope the dual premiership player would complement an emerging list. He signed a five-year contract to head home to Western Australia. Bolton wears Nike boots and is an ambassador for novated leasing company Paywise.

Max Gawn was not quite on a Clayton Oliver or Christian Petracca salary last year, but winning his third best-and-fairest award, plus earning about $300,000 off the field, sneaks the champion Demon into the top 10. Melbourne’s captain also made the All-Australian team for an eighth time. Gawn appeared twice a week on Triple M during the 2025 season and has a lucrative partnership with Lululemon. Among his other sponsors were ASICS, Your Reformer and Hyro electrolyte drinks, on top of a string of paid partnerships that are commonly worth about $10,000 each, while he co-owns East End Wine Bar and Motor restaurant.

The joke about knockabout Cat Jeremy Cameron is that his AFL career is his side hustle, given how active he is off-field and in documenting it, whether on Instagram or YouTube. Cameron’s relatable nature helps make him a good commercial performer. His partnerships range from ASICS and NAB to Bunnings, Mitre 10, Titanium Caravans, John Deere and Clubby Sports. Cameron also promotes tourism to the Geelong and Bellarine region and is an ambassador for Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation’s “Love the Game” campaign. The five-year, back-ended deal he signed after joining Geelong from GWS expired in 2025 with him earning up to $1.2 million.

The hard-luck Saints forward did not play a game last season because of a nagging knee injury that required three separate procedures in 2025. Max King, whose twin Ben plays for the Suns, inked a six-year contract extension until the end of 2032, and received between $1.4 million and $1.6 million last year as part of St Kilda’s salary cap management. He is understood to be on far less this year to help St Kilda fit in the mammoth deals paid to the likes of Wanganeen-Milera and De Koning. King’s commercial partners include Telstra and Nike.

The veteran Tigers spearhead, a former Gold Coast co-captain, was one of the AFL’s top salary earners last year on a back-ended deal worth between $1.4 million and $1.6 million. Tom Lynch re-signed in August for another season at Richmond, where he starred in the 2019 and 2020 premierships. The 2016 All-Australian, who has won three club champion awards during his career, is an ASICS ambassador and has done commercial work with Telstra and nib health, but the vast majority of his earnings come from his football contract.

Isaac Heeney is the face of the Swans, and a marketing dream for the AFL in the challenging Sydney market. He has graduated into a full-time midfielder, was the Swans’ club champion in 2025 and finished equal-fourth in the 2024 Brownlow Medal. Heeney signed a six-year extension until the end of the 2028 season, and is believed to have earned about $1.3 million last year. Heeney has no shortage of commercial partners, from Nike to Telstra, Cetaphil, Colgate, Dairy Farmers protein smoothies, Pacific Boating, Philips Water, Apollo Motorhomes and Doozy drinks. Industry experts believe he pocketed at least $350,000 off the field.

Josh Kelly earned more than $1.6 million on his playing contract last season as part of the eight-year, $8 million deal he triggered in 2021. Clubs often shuffle players’ money into future seasons to manage their salary cap, and that is what the Giants did with Kelly last year. No other Giant is believed to be among the 22 AFL players who earned at least $1.2 million in 2025. Kelly has personal deals with Nike and Telstra, while he also had a paid partnership with a’Mare restaurant at Crown Sydney.

The Blues’ captain and dual Brownlow medallist is contracted at Ikon Park until the end of the 2027 season, including earning a salary of about $1.2 million last year. However, Patrick Cripps is one of the game’s top commercial performers, above even the likes of Marcus Bontempelli. He has an apparel and footwear deal with Nike, plus other highly profitable partnerships with major brands such as Coles, Telstra, Hyundai, Nintendo, Colgate and Virgin Australia. Cripps also serves as an ambassador for AIA Vitality and children’s cancer charity My Room.

Christian Petracca, who started in blistering form this year for the Suns, earned about $1.3 million in what proved his final season as a Demon in 2025. The 2021 Norm Smith medallist inked a seven-year contract extension that was supposed to tie him to Melbourne until 2029, but he will see out that deal at Gold Coast instead. Petracca has almost 180,000 Instagram followers on his personal account and another 570,000 for his OnTrac5 recipe and cooking business. His commercial success differs to the typical AFL footballer, but he also has deals with Myprotein Australia, Red Bull, YoPRO, Colgate and Ralph Lauren Fragrances.

Bontempelli has somehow never won a Brownlow Medal despite having a case as the game’s best player since his standout 2019 season. The Bulldogs’ champion captain is known for taking less than he could ask for, but is still remunerated well, at about $1.4 million last year. He re-signed for four more years in July. Bontempelli’s commercial appeal endures through lucrative partnerships with the likes of Boss clothing, Nike, McDonald’s, Airport Toyota and Telstra – and he appeared in TV advertisements for Cash Converters, Nintendo and AAMI. He even has his own “Little Bont” children’s book series. Bontempelli also opened Arthur’s Milkbar last year.

Nick Daicos is arguably the AFL’s best player. The superstar Pie is a triple All-Australian, was runner-up in the past two Brownlow Medal counts, the AFL Coaches’ Association’s champion player in 2024, and played in the 2023 flag. His playing salary was between $1.2 million-$1.3 million last season, while the AFL’s top commercial performers – and he is in the top few – typically earn north of $500,000 annually. Daicos’ partners in 2025 included Nike, Cetaphil, Elite Supplements and Monster Energy, on top of deals with Telstra, NAB and Kayo Sports. He founded Systeme clothing and Barry’s Drink with his brother and teammate Josh (plus other players).

The data

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