Million-dollar men: Nine AFL players topped $1 million mark last year

The number of million-dollar players in the AFL is back up to nine with two players earning in excess of $1.2 million in 2019.

The group of million-dollar earners is headlined by Dustin Martin, Nat Fyfe and Lance Franklin. Other players potentially in that bracket include Jeremy Cameron and Jeremy McGovern.

Interestingly, the league's top earners includes Hawthorn midfielder Tom Mitchell, who didn't play a game last year after breaking his leg in January.

Official figures released by the league show that nine players passed the magical seven-figure mark last season. The million-dollar club shrank to six in 2018; it fluctuates because highly-paid players are sometimes on front-ended or back-ended contracts.

Last year was the fifth consecutive season that an AFL player earned at least a $1 million pay packet. Four players broke through that marker in 2015, followed by six players in 2016, nine players the following year, a dip to six players in 2018 and back up to nine players in 2019.

More to come