“Is he ready for that?”: Can Essendon recruit handle the scrutiny of being the game's highest paid player?

Essendon’s decision to front-end key free agent signing Ben McKay’s salary will see them pay him upwards of $1.5 million in 2024, according to AFL Media’s Cal Twomey.

This will make the former North Melbourne key defender the highest paid player in the league in 2024.

Twomey added that this is Essendon utilising their salary cap space next year to allow them to get through as much of McKay’s salary as they can in just one year.

However, Kane Cornes wonders whether the 25-year-old is ready to deal with the scrutiny that comes with being the highest paid player in the AFL.

“Is he ready to deal with the scrutiny that comes with being the highest paid player in the competition?” Cornes asked on *SEN’s Sportsday.

“I don’t know if he is. Are Essendon fans comfortable with paying him that?

“And if you had have said, as Tom Morris has pointed out, that Nick Haynes and Ben McKay would be the two highest paid players in season 2024 you would have got pretty long odds.

“Are you comfortable with him $1.5 million next year? Is he ready for that? He’s played in eight wins throughout his career, he’s never had a Brownlow Medal vote, wasn’t top five in their best and fairest this year and has had some issues with his body.

“He’s going to be the highest paid player in the competition.

“We are now at the point where player wages are just becoming public. That is the facts of it and once again we see a report about him earning $1.5 million next year and no one cares.”