ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 06: Brad Crouch of the Crows is tackled by Lachie Weller of the Suns during the 2020 Marsh Community Series match between the Adelaide Crows and the Gold Coast Suns at Flinders University Stadium on March 06, 2020 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by AFL Photos)
Adelaide midfielder Brad Crouch could take an approximated 50 per cent pay cut if he is to join Geelong this off-season.
The 26-year-old has reportedly been offered close to $800,000 for a new deal, while a move to the Cats could seen the Crow's star earn roughly $450,000 at Kardinia Park instead, according to The Herald Sun.
Geelong remain frontrunners for Crouch, but whether the star midfield is willing to take a large pay cut is another question.
Hawthorn champion Dermott Brereton suggested Geelong board members and parents of younger players wouldn't want Crouch joining the Cats after he was allegedly found with illicit substances last month.
“If you’re a parent of a young player at a football club, you’d worry about that, the environment your (kid is) going into," Brereton said on Fox Footy.
“If you’re a seasoned player and you think ‘this bloke can get us to the promised land’, then you’re pushing for him.
“If I’m on the board at a club, I want to stay away from that type of player given what’s transpired. If they’re at your club and it happens you support them, but you don’t I believe actively go out and say ‘bring him to us’.”
The Suns are also believed to be interested in Crouch, with the club understood to have offered a substantial deal for the midfielder before the drug scandal.