Carlton locked in co-captain Patrick Cripps on a six-year deal last week and it was widely reported that the midfielder took a pay cut as part of the contract.
The apparent team-friendly deal was put together to save the Blues some money and maximise their trade period flexibility.
The figures reportedly see the star midfielder making $750,000 per season, meaning he isn’t the highest paid player at the club.
AFL reporter Sam McClure however has called into question whether Cripps has actually taken the pay cut.
“He’s not on $750,000 (per season). No one actually believes Patrick Cripps has taken a pay cut, do they? And nor should he have by the way,” McClure told Sportsday.
“He’s on $1 million next year. I think he’s on $750,000 later in his contract, but I think it would average out to $900,000.
“That’s about right though. Why would Cripps who has carried that place for the best part of four years take a pay cut to stay there? That would be ridiculous.
“I would guess that there are certain people who are trying to get a story out there that Cripps has taken a pay cut for the betterment of the club, which is fine, but the facts are, I would suggest, that he has not taken a pay cut and nor should he.
“He should be getting paid the most money at Carlton, I think that’s pretty clear.”
Cripps spoke to SEN WA on Friday morning, saying he did in fact take less money than he could have taken.
“The main thing I said to the club when we first started chatting was I wanted to do what was best for the club,” Cripps told SEN’s Gilly and Goss.
“In the position we’re in, we get looked after pretty well anyway, so we can’t complain with the money we get paid.
“At the end of your career you want to win premierships and have team success, and that’s what it’s all about.
“I feel like we have a list with a lot of young talent, and they’re only going to grow. As they grow they’re going to demand more money.
“As captain, if I can set a precedent to the boys that ‘let’s stick together, let’s take a little bit less,’ hopefully that flows on to team success. That’s what it’s all about.”