It's the multimillion-dollar question that has spread across the AFL - how is St Kilda suddenly the competition's major trade player and able to hand out huge contracts to a number of top talents?
In a few short weeks, the Saints have transformed from one of the competition's also-rans, seemingly unable to land the big names they have sought for years, to a free agent powerhouse.
The re-signing of Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera seemed to be a major launching pad, but even without a commitment from NWM, St Kilda was poised to make a huge splash this offseason.
Linked with Leek Aleer, Liam Ryan and Sam Flanders for some time now, the Saints are also expected to sign Tom De Koning from Carlton and have vaulted into late calculations for fellow Blue, Jack Silvagni.
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Each of those names are expected to sign contracts well into the millions and it's enough to give an accountant nightmares when it comes to balancing St Kilda's salary cap.
Herald Sun repoter Jon Ralph did his best to make some sense of it all on Fox Footy's Midweek Tackle.
“We know a few of the ways," Ralph said.
"You can front-end big contracts – you give Max King a lot of his contract (early) – so that when you do get into the premiership window, you’ve saved a bit.
"You bank some cap space, (minimum spend) 95 per cent and then you pay five per cent the next year.
“One way that hasn’t been talked about is that they’ve actually refused a couple of the player managers the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) uptick.
"We know the AFL pay deal goes up 37 per cent over five years. So (the Saints) will say ‘here’s your guaranteed money, if the salary cap goes up 10 per cent next year, no we’ve given you your money, you don’t get any of that rise’.
"It’s not pennies, it’s certainly a significant amount, it’s not all of that 37 per cent, but it’s just another way they’ve been able to do it.
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“Now is the time to spend it and they are bloody spending every dollar they have.”
Silvagni had been heavily linked with Collingwood and the Bulldogs once it became clear his days at Carlton were numbered, before the Saints entered the race.
That has raised some concerns over a potential conflict of interest as his dad Stephen Silvagni is the list manager at St Kilda, but Ralph had a blunt reply to that concern.
“If I’m St Kilda, I don’t care,” he said.
“I’m saying: ‘You know what? We want to get better, there might be some (St Kilda) players who might whinge, (so) let’s give Cal Wilkie another $150,000 because he’s one of the very few players who deserves that money. The rest of you on that list, you take the money we’ve given you, you play great football and if you finish top three in a best and fairest, then we’ll think about a pay rise’.”