"Nice exit plan": Butters trade rumour that won't go awayBy Connor Scanlon
SEN
5 June 2026With Zak Butters entering free agency at the conclusion of the 2026 season, rumours have continued to fly around regarding which club the gun midfielder will land at over the offseason.
Rumours that Richmond was preparing a monster bid for Butters have been rife since Craig Hutchison tabled the news on the Agenda Setters in April.
Hutchy reported the Tigers would table up to $4.5 million for Butters in year one and make him captain immediately.
Reports of a similarly mammoth deal have started doing the rounds again this week with $18 million the number being touted.
Speaking on SEN’s Fireball, Kane Cornes dove into this enormous contract rumour.
The 300-gamer also explained that Port Adelaide would be willing to agree to a deal with Richmond over the likes of the Western Bulldogs or Collingwood, thanks to the Tigers' high draft pick for the 2026 National Draft.
“It's big… $18 million, $2.25 million (per year) with three to four million in the first year,” Cornes started.
“They are one club that can do it. I think Port Adelaide would be happy to do it with Richmond more so than the Western Bulldogs or Collingwood.
“They're going to have pick 2 (in the National Draft) as a starting point for Zak, then there'd be some change involved in that.”
North Melbourne legend David King chimed in on the conversation, stating that he also heard AFL.com.au’s lead football, draft and trade journalist Cal Twomey suggest that Butters is happy to go to one of three clubs – Richmond, Geelong or the Dogs.
King: “I've heard a lot of different ways of attacking this discussion.”
“I think it was Cal Twomey talking about maybe offering up two or three options – (Butters is) happy to go to Richmond, Dogs, or Geelong, but in that order.
“See what the best deal is you can get for your football club. That's a nice exit plan, isn't it? To give the club the best opportunity.”
Cornes: “And he can go wherever they can get the best deal done.”
“Has that ever happened before? I can't remember a player going, ‘I'm happy to go to one of three clubs,’ usually they name their club.”
King: “If you're going to take the $18 million over eight years, it's a nice way of massaging it, isn't it?
“‘I haven't taken the money, no, no, no, I said in court, I'll go to one of these three clubs. They chose the deal for Richmond, and here we are.’”
However, Cornes believes the Power star has already made his mind up about which club he will move to.
“I just think he's made his mind up though,” Cornes added.
“I think he's made his mind up six, 12 months ago. And they might know that he’s made his mind up.”
Regarding how this massive-money deal will impact Richmond, Sam Edmund is of the belief that it is an incredibly smart business move from the Tigers.
But it may still not be enough to push Butters to Punt Road.
“Smart business, isn't it?” stated Edmund.
“It's smart business in the sense that if you've got the money to spend, and Richmond clearly do, if you've got the money to spend and you've got a young group coming through, well, then you've clearly got a large balloon now to front-end a contract.
“Is it going to be enough to get him there? I still don't think so. I still think Zak Butters will want to go to a team that will contend in the short-term as opposed to the long-term.
“But you’ve got to be in it to win it, and I love it. I think it's great that they're having a red-hot crack it at Richmond.”
King added: “You couldn’t walk past that sort of cash, could you? It’s four million for one year!"
Butters has been averaging 30.7 disposals this season and will be an incredible pickup for the team which can get their hands on him.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2026/06/05/afl-2026-zak-butters-trade-rumours-richmond-contract-offer
