Carlton forward Jack Martin has been revealed as the competitions highest paid player in 2020 after signing a heavily front-ended deal to join the Blues this season, per SEN's Craig Hutchison.
Martin, who signed a five-year deal with the club, was set to earn close to $2 million in 2020 before the AFLPA agreed to a 50 per cent pay cut due to the financial strains of COVID-19.
Despite the major salary reduction, Hutchison revealed the ex-Gold Coast speedster sits atop the AFL's wage list for this season.
“Here’s a trivia question for you: Who’s the number one paid player in the AFL this year?” Hutchison asked Damian Barrett on The Sounding Board.
Barrett: “It would be a race between, in the weird way contracts are structured, the two Martins, Jack and Dusty.”
Hutchison: “Yeah, Jack’s number one.
“His contract is almost two million bucks this year, pre pay cut.”
Barrett: “And that’s unfortunate for him because he’s taken that deal as a way to assist the club as much as himself to smooth his total number out over a number of years and this is the year where it’s going to be cut in half.”
Hutchison: “I don’t think that will work for him. My understanding is he’s being paid more this year than the next four years put together.
“That’s an extraordinary contract isn’t it?”
Barrett: “The way it stands on 2020 books, he’s going to lose half that number.”
Hutchison: “I don’t think that’s going to play for him. I think there will be a discussion around how to restructure that.”
Martin has been a live wire for the Blues this season as the club sits 3-3 heading into round seven.
