RETIRED Collingwood premiership player Luke Ball has stepped down as AFL Players' Association president, with Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich and Geelong veteran Jimmy Bartel among the leading contenders to succeed him.

Despite his retirement at the end of last season, Ball had been expected to continue as president, as the players prepared to embark on upcoming talks for the next collective bargaining agreement.

AFLPA chief executive Paul Marsh told News Ltd that Ball's decision had not come as a complete surprise.

"Like most blokes who are transitioning out of the game, you weigh up a lot of your options and I think it's taken him a while to work out what he wants to do," Marsh said. 

"It's been pretty much standard practice for the president of the PA to be a current player ... but the indications probably were that he would stay on.

"I think he reflected on things around the Christmas break ... that's fair enough and it wasn't completely surprising."

The AFLPA board will meet on March 17 to elect a new president with Pavlich, Bartel and fellow board members Drew Petrie (North Melbourne) Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide), Ted Richards (Sydney Swans) and Will Minson (Western Bulldogs) all possible candidates for the top job. 

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Former Richmond midfielder Daniel Jackson has also resigned from the AFLPA board after retiring late last season.

The current CBA expires at the end of the 2016 season and Marsh hopes to kick off negotiations for the next CBA before the end of this season. 

"We are doing a lot of work in preparation for that at the moment," Marsh said.

"But there are lots of other ongoing issues that we are dealing with from Essendon to concussion and player welfare. It's a governance role in making sure the business is being run properly and in the best interests of the members."

Marsh said the No.1 issue for players in the next CBA negotiations would be getting "a fairer share" of the game's revenue, with work-life balance another issue that needed to be addressed.

"To me it's really standing out as a significant issue for the industry," he said. 

"There is a lot of anxiety among the players around just what is required day to day to be an AFL footballer ... it's almost all encompassing."