Richo’s first ever AFL contract(Which was set out on a typewriter)
* The base payment in 1993 was $12,500.
* Senior match payment of $150 per game + $500 per win.
* First senior match bonus of $5,000.
* Best and fairest bonus: $5,000. (Decreasing by $1,000 down to 5th).
* Accommodation allowance: $100 per week.
* Travel allowance: $40 per week.
* Relocation fee: $10,000.
The three-time All-Australian and 13-time Tigers leading goalkicker gave a snapshot of what he earned in his debut season.
“I added that all up,” he said.
“In my first year I got $12.5k base, I played 14 games at $150, so that’s $2,100.
“Four wins for $2,000. I got two of the milestones so that’s another $4,000. My first game $5,000 and my relocation fee of 10 grand.
“All up I got $35,600 and when the tax was taken out I got under 20 grand for playing 14 games of AFL football.”
To subsidise this, he had to work a full-time job.
Richardson’s base payment increased from $12,500 to $15,000 to $17,500 and up to $20,000 by the end of his four-year contract.
In 1996 when he kicked 91 goals, Richo would have raked in less than $30,000.
He would go on to kick 800 goals from 282 games, winning one Jack Dyer Medal and a place in Richmond’s Hall of Fame as one of the club’s best ever.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2021/05/13/richmond-great-reveals-surprising-details-of-first-afl-contract/
