Ben Brown’s manager Adam Ramanauskas says his client isn’t close to re-signing with North Melbourne.
The 27-year-old is out of contract at the end of the year and suffered a knee injury in his side's loss to Geelong at the Gabba.
Ramanauskas conceded Brown was “out of form” and confirmed there were still some “sticking points” which have to be worked through before any new deal is signed.
“The conversations with North Melbourne were really good before COVID-19 and they’ve been good after,” he said on ABC Radio.
“Ben (Brown) is out of form and he’s stated that himself and North Melbourne are trying to do everything they can to get him back into form.
“At the same time, as any agent should do you always want to maximise the earning capacity of your client and that’s our job so when that is and when we do a contract with North Melbourne, that’s to be seen.
“I wouldn’t say we were close, there were still some real sticking points within our negotiating that we were arguing about and discussing but I don’t think we were close to the terms we both wanted and there probably was a gap in money as well.”
Ramanauskas said Brown had been carrying bone bruising in his knee and the tackle which saw him sidelined “stirred” up an ongoing issue.
North Melbourne coach Rhyce Shaw said any pre-existing injury wasn’t serious.
"We all carry stuff when we're playing footy. Benny's had some knee issues but nothing that has been substantial," Shaw said.
"He was available, fit and ready to play this week."