Essendon have made a desperate last plea to convince Essendon captain Zach Merrett to remain at the Bombers, offering to rework his contract.
Merrett is believed to have one foot out the door of Windy Hill, as he looks to pursue a move to Hawthorn.
Despite in the past feeling he was underpaid, Merrett's current situation with the club has little to do with money, and more to do with him wanting to join a club contending for a premiership.
But, according to Nine's Tom Morris, this hasn't deterred Essendon management from making a last-ditch effort to change his mind.
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"Essendon, I believe, have either just offered, or are about to offer, more money for him for the next two years," Morris told Footy Classified on Tuesday night.
"For 2026 and 2027, I believe it will be somewhere around the $700,000 mark across two years... it won't change what Zach Merrett is thinking and that is that he wants out."
Last week, Essendon coach Brad Scott revealed on AFL 360 that the club had already reworked Merrett's contract twice in the last three years, after he initially signed a six-year extension back in 2021.
"The reality is that this time last year we recommitted to Zach. We felt he was underpaid for someone who was performing at such a high level. So for the second time in three years we changed his remuneration to reflect his brilliant performance and his terrific leadership," Scott told.
In January, the Herald Sun's Jay Clark reported the second of those reworks, revealing that Merrett's salary had increased from the $900,000 he was playing on in 2024.
The increased pay packet came in the wake of Merrett receiving huge interest from St Kilda at the end of last season, which in Merrett's own words, was a "life changing" offer, although he later stayed put.
Despite having his contract reworked in the off-season, Merrett has campaigned for the sport's top players to earn even more money.
“I think the best players in the game should be remunerated as best as they should,” Merrett told The Age's Sam McClure in February.
“My take would be to reduce the size of the list and then inflate the best players’ salaries and reward those guys for being the best players and then improve the product."
If Merrett were to accept an increase of $350,000 per season to stay at Essendon, he would likely become one of the highest paid players in the competition next season.
But it appears he wants to be wearing the brown and gold in 2026, and nothing can change his mind, not even money.