With another trade period now in the books, attention for list managers and fans alike turns to a loaded class of talent due to come out of contract at the conclusion of the 2026 season.
With a Brownlow Medal, two Gary Ayres Awards, AFLCA Champion Player of the Year honours and plenty of All-Australians and premiership players featuring in the off-contract crop for next year, clubs keen to add star power to their list will be salivating.
Here we've listed 10 players set to come out of contract in 2026, and rival clubs that could be suitors.
7Tom Lynch
A two-time premiership winner with the Tigers, Lynch signed a one-year extension to tie him to Punt Road until the end of 2026 in August.
The extension comes after two seasons where his wage, allegedly, outweighed his production significantly. The deal that saw Lynch leave the Suns in a high-profile defection at the end of 2017 was heavily back-ended, and conventional wisdom would suggest, given his age and the physical challenges that come with it, his 2026 earnings will be modest, comparatively.
Does Lynch have the desire to guide these Tiger cubs through a few more seasons of a rebuild, or is he looking to maximise his earnings elsewhere? Will Yze and co. have Lynch as a key pillar in their attacking plans beyond 2026?
Potential Suitors: Gold Coast, Collingwood
