Swann told Fairfax Radio the Carlton board would likely agree to put the contract talks with Fevola on the backburner at its meeting on Monday night.
"That's probably the most likely thing that will happen," he said.
"It has dragged on for too long and everyone's getting sidetracked, so I'd say that would be the most likely outcome that we'll fix it at the end of the year.
"Something along those lines might happen."
Carlton and Fevola have been unable to strike a deal despite the club making an offer and the player declaring he wants to stay.
"We've made an offer, we're not that far away, but no one's budging at the minute so maybe at the end of the year we'll start to budge. So we'll see," Swann said.
Fevola, 27, kicked five goals in Sunday's two-point defeat to Sydney, which gave him 69 majors for the season.
Although Fevola's contract talks have dragged on, Swann said Carlton was close to re-signing young midfielder Marc Murphy and key-position player Jarrad Waite to new deals.
But he emphatically ruled out the Blues recruiting Sydney player Nick Davis, who has been shopping himself around to other AFL clubs.
Swann was chief executive at Collingwood when Davis left the Magpies for Sydney, and said although the forward's manager had approached Carlton, he would not be at Princes Park in 2009.
"Not in a million years, no," he said.
"We don't need him at our club."
