Top 15 Highest Paid AFL Players 2026

Ever caught yourself wondering just how much the highest paid AFL players make a year? 

The 2026 season had more million-dollar men than ever before, with cashed-up clubs splashing serious coin to lock down their superstars.

So, if you’re eager to find out who is the highest paid AFL player, then you’ve come to the right place.

Here are the Top 15 highest paid AFL players heading into the 2027 season. 

Highest Paid AFL Players 

15. Shai Bolton (Fremantle Dockers) - $1.1 million

If you want to land a sought-after dual premiership player, it’ll cost you. Fremantle handed over a haul of draft picks and roughly $1.1 million a season to bring the former Richmond gun west.

He showed why in the 2026 Grand Final, winning the Norm Smith Medal even though the Dockers went down to Brisbane by seven points.

14. Nick Daicos (Collingwood Magpies) - $1.2 million

Collingwood locked Nick Daicos in until the end of 2029, and on current form that deal looks like a bargain.

In 2026 he finally got his hands on a Brownlow Medal after three near misses, polling a record 47 votes to break Patrick Cripps’ previous mark of 45.

Don’t expect him to stay this far down the list for long.

13. Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide) - $1.2 million

When the Power anointed Connor Rozee club captain at just 23, they swiftly ensured he wasn’t going anywhere.

Rozee put pen to paper on an eight-year contract at the end of 2023, one that keeps him in the seven-figure club.

12. Patrick Cripps (Carlton) - $1.3 million

Carlton talisman Patrick Cripps remains one of the game’s big earners.

The dual Brownlow medallist set the old record of 45 votes in 2024, a mark that only fell in 2026.

11. Chad Warner (Sydney Swans) - $1.3 million

West Coast and Fremantle both tried to lure Chad Warner home to WA, but the Swans won out.

His two-year deal runs to the end of 2027, and his burst speed out of the middle is worth every cent.

10. Errol Gulden (Sydney Swans) - $1.3 million

Errol Gulden famously turned down a 10-year offer from Adelaide to stay in Sydney.

The elite left-footer’s current deal runs until 2028, so expect plenty of interest when it comes up.

9. Max King (St Kilda Saints) - $1.4 million

Max King has had a tough run with injury in recent years, including missing the entire 2025 season, but his front-loaded deal keeps him near the top of the rich list.

The Saints have the key forward signed until the end of 2032.

8. Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs) - $1.4 million

The shining light and skipper of the Western Bulldogs, it’s no surprise to see Marcus Bontempelli in the top ten.

It’s hard to put a price on his influence at the Doggies, but the reported figure is $1.4 million.

7. Clayton Oliver (GWS Giants) - $1.4 million

Clayton Oliver now does his work in the Giants’ engine room after his move from Melbourne.

In a twist, the Demons are reportedly still paying part of his contract, which runs through to 2030.

6. Christian Petracca (Gold Coast Suns) - $1.4 million

One of the biggest moves of the 2025 trade period went right down to the wire. On deadline day, 15 October 2025, Christian Petracca got his move to Gold Coast after 212 games for Melbourne.

The 2021 Norm Smith Medallist helped the Dees break their 57-year premiership drought, and Melbourne got picks 7 and 8 among a haul of selections to let him go.

He took his big contract north with him, and his salary is reported to have climbed from $1.2 million to $1.4 million a season.

5. Tom Lynch (Richmond Tigers) - $1.5 million

Lynch by name, lynchpin by nature. The Richmond forward was the AFL’s top earner not so long ago.

2026 is the final year of his back-ended deal, with reports putting his pay somewhere between $1.45 million and $1.6 million.

4. Josh Kelly (GWS Giants) - $1.6 million

Josh Kelly signed an eight-year extension with GWS back in 2021.

He is now into the big-money years of that deal, which makes him one of the best-paid players in the competition.

3. Tom De Koning (St Kilda Saints) - $1.7 million

St Kilda lured the big ruckman away from Carlton as a free agent in October 2025.

His eight-year deal is reported to be worth around $1.7 million a season, a figure the Blues said they were not prepared to match.

2. Harley Reid (West Coast Eagles) - $2 million

The AFL’s second $2 million man. Harley Reid turned his back on rival interest to stay at West Coast until at least the end of 2028.

Money does a great job of quelling homesickness, it seems.

1. Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (St Kilda Saints) - $2 million

The AFL’s first $2 million-a-year player. In August 2025, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera knocked back big offers from Adelaide and Port Adelaide to sign a two-year extension with St Kilda reportedly worth more than $4 million.

With that deal running out at the end of 2027, his next one could be even bigger.

Please note that all player salaries are in AUD and are approximate figures. These are the current reported annual salaries as of 2026 and do not encapsulate the total duration or value of their current contracts or include off-field revenue.