The thin dotted line

This article was originally published on ThisWeekInFootball.com

Player contracts have obviously been in the news a lot lately, particularly in the wake of Melbourne signing Kysaiah Pickett to the end of 2034.

Using Footywire’s database of contract status I thought it would be interesting to look at how each list shapes up in terms of who is locked away and for how long.

To the left, in the faded area, you can see how long a player has been on that club’s list. The right shows how far into the future they are contracted.

Let’s also get a quick summary of who has the most potential fluidity in their list over the next few years.

For this year, Port Adelaide and Collingwood have the highest proportion of their list unsigned.

If we look forward to the end of 2026. Carlton, Port Adelaide again, as well as Hawthorn and West Coast all have 70% of more of their players yet to extend.

At the three-year mark we’ve got Richmond, St Kilda, Carlton and Hawthorn with 90% of their list potentially out of contract by then, with the Bulldogs just shy.

Going from the opposite direction Fremantle, GWS, Collingwood, and Brisbane have the highest proportion of players contracted out past the end of 2028.

West Coast, Essendon, Gold Coast, Hawthorn, and Collingwood are the only clubs with no players contracted beyond 2030, with West Coast’s longest current commitments ending with Jake Waterman, Jack Hutchinson, and Liam Baker in 2029.