Bradshaw knocked back a two-year deal to stay with the Brisbane Lions late last week and the Blues and the Sydney Swans emerged as the early frontrunners for his services.
Both clubs have recently freed up room in their salary cap and it now appears Bradshaw holds the cards over where he wants to end up in the NAB Pre-season Draft.
A major consideration is likely to be Bradshaw's family.
He moved from Wodonga in country Victoria to Brisbane when he was drafted with the No.56 pick of the 1995 draft and now has four children.
Carlton general manager of football operations Steven Icke confirmed the club had the money and was enthusiastic about getting Bradshaw to Visy Park.
"We’re confident we can afford him. But he’s got to come out and make a decision which club he wants to go and play for," Icke said on Monday.
"At this stage it is all very speculative because all he’s done is notify Brisbane on Friday that he will not play with them next year. His manager Colin Young is taking phone calls from all those interested clubs and we’re one of those."
Bradshaw, 30, almost ended up at Carlton in trade week as part of the deal that saw Brendan Fevola head to the Lions but the deal fell through partly because teammate Michael Rischitelli was reluctant to be included in the deal.
The Blues gained Lachlan Henderson and pick 12 for Fevola.
The Sydney Swans lost Barry Hall and Michael O'Loughlin from their forward set-up at the end of this season. And while Jesse White looks to have an enormous upside, the club would still welcome help from a player of Bradshaw's class and experience.
Icke said he was not sure if the Blues were a strong chance to land Bradshaw. "I couldn’t answer that question, I don’t know who else is involved and I don’t know what their position is. We’ve made some inquiries to his management and we’ll continue to speak to them," Icke said.
Icke also would not comment on newspaper reports over the weekend that Bradshaw had been offered a three-year deal by the Blues.
"I’m not going to speculate on those sorts of things. All we’re doing is talking to his management and those sorts of discussions will happen much later down the track," he said.
Brisbane Lions CEO Michael Bowers confirmed that Bradshaw had been offered a new contract with the Lions but was not happy with the length of the deal.
"We made what we thought was a good offer to Daniel and he rejected it, unfortunately," Bowers told MX newspaper on Monday.
"Through his manager, we understand that he is seeking a longer and more lucrative deal. If that’s the case, it’s his call and we wish him all the best in the future because he’s been a great servant.
"It was not a situation where we wanted to get rid of Daniel; not at all. We wanted to keep him. We offered him a contract and he made the decision to reject it."
The Swans has the chance to have an earlier pick in the NAB Pre-Season Draft than the Blues. But the club is unlikely to draft Bradshaw if he made it clear he wanted to return to Victoria.
