THE SCALE of COVID-19 inflicted financial carnage on AFL players has been revealed, with the game's official accounts revealing just four footballers earned more than $900,000 from the 2020 season.
With a 29.17 per cent cut across the board due to the pandemic, Total Player Payments slumped to 2012 season numbers - $170 million in 2020 ($242m in 2019).
The average player wage for 2020 (698 players, rookie-listed players not included) was $260,000, a dramatic drop from the 2019 average ($363,000).
>> Click here to download a full breakdown of the Total Player Payments
It is believed the four players on $900,000-plus in 2020 were Jeremy Cameron, Lance Franklin (who didn't play a game), Jack Martin, who after crossing from Gold Coast to Carlton had a very heavily front-ended deal, and Dustin Martin.
Cameron, now at Geelong, had a back-ended deal with Greater Western Sydney last year.
Nat Fyfe and Jeremy McGovern were also likely among the game's biggest earners in the COVID-19 hit season.
In the 2019 season, 16 players were paid $900,000 or more.
The 2020 Total Player Payment figures were released to clubs on Friday.
| 2010 - 2020 Summary of AFL Player Earnings >> Scroll across | ||||||
| Earnings | 2010 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2020 |
| Played | Listed | Listed | Listed | Played | Listed | |
| $0 - $60,000 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| $60,001 - $100,000 | 67 | 38 | 24 | 31 | 47 | 113 |
| $100,001 - $200,000 | 153 | 152 | 159 | 166 | 165 | 189 |
| $200,001 - $300,000 | 158 | 140 | 136 | 124 | 134 | 142 |
| $300,001 - $400,000 | 91 | 148 | 145 | 123 | 124 | 131 |
| $400,001 - $500,000 | 45 | 89 | 88 | 107 | 58 | 60 |
| $500,001 - $600,000 | 9 | 53 | 49 | 48 | 38 | 40 |
| $600,001 - $700,000 | 8 | 34 | 46 | 42 | 13 | 13 |
| $700,001 - $800,000 | 2 | 23 | 24 | 29 | 4 | 4 |
| $800,001 - $900,000 | 2 | 9 | 15 | 16 | 1 | 2 |
| $900,001 - $1,000,000 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| $1,000,001 - $1,100,000 | - | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| $1,100,001 - $1,200,000 | - | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| $1,200,001 + | - | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 548 | 707 | 703 | 702 | 587 | 698 |
| NB: Details listed under heading "Played" relates only to Primary listed Players who participated in at least one senior match during the season. | ||||||
| Details listed under heading "Listed" includes all Primary Listed Players | ||||||
| Earnings are Total Player Earnings including ASA's. | ||||||
| In 2020, a decrease in player payments arose due to the 29.17% reduction in payments agreed with the AFLPA as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. | ||||||