AFL legend tips young gun to sign 'biggest contract in footy' with move on the cards
AFL great Matthew Richardson believes budding forward Sam Darcy will be the league's highest-paid player in the coming years.
Darcy finished the 2024 season — his third in the AFL — with averages of 13 disposals, three tackles, five marks and two goals per match.
Having featured in 21 games for the Western Bulldogs this year, Darcy scored the second most goals for the club with 37 majors.
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Sam Darcy of the Bulldogs celebrates with fans. Daniel Pockett via Getty Images
Speaking on 3AW's Wide World of Sports, Richardson expected Darcy to receive lucrative offers from rival clubs when he comes off contract at the end of next season.
"You see these contracts that are going around now? I think he will sign the biggest contract in footy, in the next few years," he said.
"You'd want to have some money put away for him."
Darcy, 21, was drafted to Whitten Oval as a father-son selection with pick No.2 in the 2021 national draft.
The third-generation Bulldog is the son of club legend Luke and grandson of 133-gamer David.
With the Tasmania Devils entering the competition in 2028, they will need to offer stars of the game lucrative deals to come on board as marquee signings.
Sam Frost of the Hawks is tackled by Sam Darcy of the Bulldogs. Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images
The AFL's total player payments — or salary cap — is expected to rise to about $18.5 million by 2028, leaving the Devils with plenty of cash to splash on any player they desire.
Leading AFL journalist Sam McClure agreed that if Darcy did join the Devils, he would be in the conversation for the highest-paid player in history.
"If I'm [Devils board director] Alastair Lynch and I've got the whiteboard there, it's him, it's (also) Harley Reid (who they should be targeting)," he said.
"But I think that if (Darcy) stays at the Dogs because of the family lineage... I think he'll end up taking substantially less [money at the Bulldogs] because he won't want to mess up the TPP [total player payments] of the team.
"So, I think it could work out for the Dogs but in order to do that, he may have to turn down two million bucks a year from Tassie."
Clubs, such as the Bulldogs, have been warned to lock down their emerging talent before they end up on the Devils' hit list.
Essendon recruit Ben McKay was the highest-paid player this season with his front-ended deal worth nearly $1.5m in 2024.
His contract is expected to average out to about $850,000 throughout his six-year deal.
McKay's contract is proof that market demand is on the incline.
