Jack Martin has nominated for the AFL’s Pre-Season Draft and has put a $1 million dollar price on his head for the 2020 season and has also asked for a five-year deal.
Clubs must match the demands of a player who has nominated for the draft, making it hard for Gold Coast and Melbourne to sneak in and pinch Martin before Carlton – his destination of choice.
The Blues and Suns failed to put together a trade for the forward, which has put him in this position.
Carlton has a huge salary cap hole to fill after missing out on Stephen Coniglio and Tom Papley and they will likely use this to their advantage, advising Martin to put the huge price on his head.
The Blues will likely heavily front-end the deal, with reports indicating they will pay him $3 million over the five years, meaning it would smooth out at $2 million over the final four years of the contract.
Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney believes this will end up as a big win for the Blues and takes full advantage of their contract situation.
“To average it out at about $600,000 per year, I would bank on Jack Martin’s improvement being significant at a new club over the next two years and if he is being front-ended, in the last three years of his deal, he’ll be on minimal money for what his output will be,” Cooney told SEN SA Breakfast.
“That will help a club like Carlton who are still in that development phase.
“They wouldn’t mind paying him a million dollars next year. Patrick Cripps would be the only one who would be on anywhere near that at the Blues so they can probably afford to pay him overs.
“When they do improve two years down the track and they’re trying to play finals, a player like Martin and his improvement, he’ll be on minimal money so it could be a smart play.
“Overpay him now and hopefully you can cash in after a few years.
“He’s an above average player I believe. I think he has elite tendencies and I think he will thrive at another club. A million is a lot to pay for Jack Martin, but if you average it over the back-end, you’ll get some good value from him.”
Martin has played 97 career games and has officially delisted himself from the Suns.