RICHMOND'S second-tier premiership players are poised to be the biggest winners from Alex Rance's shock retirement.

It is believed Rance's current contract, which was to run until the end of 2021, was front-ended, but having retired in December, he has left at least $1.2 million on the table for the Tigers to spread among his ex-teammates. 

Richmond has agreed to pay Rance for the two months of training (November and December) he completed as per the 2020-season part of his deal.

With Rance on its books, the Tigers' salary cap had been at bursting point for 2020 and 2021, but the remaining money assigned to Rance in 2020 can, following the issuing of a Contract Variation (CV), be partly "shuffled" to other Richmond players, which would then provide the Tigers with the opportunity to target a big-name opposition player in the next free agent and exchange period.

Richmond senior club advisor Neil Balme told AFL.com.au the club would keep Rance as an official part of their 2020 list. 

"That will be the case unless he comes to us asking us to take him off the list, and we're not hoping for that," Balme said. 

"We would love to have him play again, but given what we've gone through, and what he has told us, we have to respect his decision not to play again. 

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"It is more likely he will be on our list and we will be one player short this year, and that is a small price to pay, we're not hiding from that."

In the past three weeks, senior Tigers officials and players have conceded privately that a chance of Rance returning to play this season is less than five per cent. 

Given Richmond's ability to redistribute part of Rance's surplus cash, it would mean that two-time premiership player Josh Caddy, out-of-contract at the end of this year, could immediately be offered a fresh deal, rather than test the market where he would inevitably receive more dollars.

Other Tigers coming out-of-contract include Jayden Short, Marlion Pickett, Jack Graham and Toby Nankervis. 

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Kane Lambert, contracted to the end of 2022, could receive more money up front as a result of Rance's excess, therefore ultimately easing the Tigers' cap squeeze down the track.

It is believed marquee recruit Tom Lynch has signed a heavily back-ended deal with the Tigers, and he too, could be an option for a revised contract from the club following the Rance decision.

Captain Trent Cotchin (2022 contract) and forward Jack Riewoldt (2021) have previously topped up existing deals to assist with salary cap stress.

The game's highest-paid player, Dustin Martin, is contracted through to the end of 2024.

Clubs are required to lodge total player payment estimates to the AFL in November each year, and given Richmond was unable to factor in Rance's situation at that stage, it would need to make its case to the AFL for contract variations across upcoming estimates throughout 2020. 

While the Tigers have stated they will keep Rance on their 2020 books, they still have options in replacing him in 2020.

He could be placed on the inactive list, allowing a selection in the pre-season supplemental period (where the Tigers last year secured Sydney Stack) or mid-season rookie draft (where they landed arguably the greatest ever feel-good draft story in Marlion Pickett, who played his debut AFL game in the 2019 Grand Final win against GWS). 

Balme said the Tigers would not be making selections in the pre-season and mid-season player-acquisition opportunities. 

"We won’t have a pick there," Balme said. "We're done. We're not thinking of that option."