It was reported on Tuesday that as many as six AFL players earned a seven-figure sum in 2021 - a significant portion of the $13.4m salary cap.
But while fans and media alike love to debate who is worth what, it's not as simple as ranking the six best players in the competition and paying them accordingly.
In addition to what a player offers on the field, there are a number of factors that determine just how much they're worth - age, whether they're on an upward or downward spiral, other star players to pay at their club, whether they're in their 'home' state and when they signed their contract, to name but a few.
Here, we look at the players reported to be on $1m or more in 2021 - Dustin Martin, Lance Franklin, Jeremy McGovern, Brodie Grundy and Nat Fyfe - plus a couple tipped to reach that mark in 2022 - Christian Petracca and Tom Lynch - and determine whether it's money well spent ...
4. Nat Fyfe
I have to be honest - it might be hard for me to be objective here because I love Nat Fyfe.
I think he's a deadset star.
In my opinion, outside of me he's the best player of the 2009 draft - and that includes Dusty and Max Gawn.
And that's taking nothing away from those two - I said previously that Dusty's $1.2 - $1.3 million a season is almost unders, and I've also been on the record as saying I genuinely think my good mate Max is actually underrated.
But Fyfe is different gravy.
He can do it all - in the air, in the contest, at stoppages and in the forward half.
He's a big man and one of those players who has a presence on the field.
In fact, I believe that, when he's on, he's the most unstoppable player in the game.
There are admittedly knocks on the dual Brownlow Medallist's ball use - especially when kicking at goal.
In 2021, Fyfe kicked 6.21 in 15 games - including 0.6 (from 30 disposals) in Round 4 against Hawthorn.
There are also a couple of other questions over the justification over the colossal six-year deal he signed in 2017.
The first is whether he was ever a genuine chance of leaving the Dockers, given - like McGovern - there was no 'go-home factor' - for the boy from Lake Grace.
However, it's suggested cross-town rivals West Coast were heavily into Fyfe and the Dockers had no choice but to match their valuation.
The second is whether he's on the park often enough.
Fyfe has had a myriad of injury concerns in recent seasons - he was coming off a five-game season in 2016 when signing this long-term contract and, since then, he's managed 15, 20, 14 and 15-game seasons.
But that 20-game season, 2019, is exactly why Fyfe is worth so much.
He polled 33 votes to claim his second Brownlow and was selected as the captain of the All Australian team - his third All Australian gong.
Verdict: Worth every cent - even with my bias towards him I can acknowledge the questions over the deal, but the reality is he can be the most dominant player in the competition and that alone deserves a seven-figure salary.
