Who wants to be a millionaire? AFL’s top earners reach record numbers

However, while there are those on gold-plated incomes, there were 117 listed players – likely youngsters – who made between $100,000 and $200,000. This band was the biggest, followed by those earning between $200,000 and $300,000 (104). No player earned less than $100,000.

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There were 250 players who made at least $500,000.

Total player payments jumped $800,000 to $15.8 million per club last season, leading to the average payment for a listed player to increase from $441,464 to $459,173.

The average payment for players who played at least one senior match was $493,592, up from $476,215 in 2023.

The salary cap under the new collective bargaining agreement is only growing, meaning it’s likely next year that there will be even more who enjoy a bumper salary.

Last year’s record number of millionaires came in a season when the AFL’s overall executive pay fell by $2.8 million to $10.8 million, following the departures of chief executive Gillon McLachlan and fellow experienced executives Travis Auld and Kylie Rogers.

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