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.
9Ben King
The Suns spearhead has been linked to a move home to Victoria for some time, although chatter has cooled with Gold Coast's pitch to Charlie Curnow falling short.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan's AFL lifeline may expedite King's decision-making however.
Damien Hardwick will surely want the big bodies to work in tandem, but big money offers from his home state are sure to land at the feet of King, given his impending free agency status.
The Saints have held interest in uniting the King brothers at the club they grew up supporting essentially since their drafting, while the Pies came hard this year.
Throw in King's upbringing on the bay, and his ties to Haileybury, and his rumoured desire to make his way to Moorabbin comes into sharper focus.
Do the Saints have room in their war chest after their acquisitions this off-season? Does King want to see out what he started at the Gold Coast, where his squad is seemingly on the precipice of history?
Potential Suitors: Collingwood, St Kilda
