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FWC Finals on Sport Nation guideThe slip of the tongue that could reveal why Nate Caddy re-signed
Jaiden Sciberras • July 16th, 2026 4:30 pm
Nate Caddy has extended his stay with Essendon, re-signing for a further three years to take his tenure through to 2031.
And while the move appears to be one sought over pure loyalty, a slip of the tongue by Caddy's father, Saul, could tell a different story.
The three-year extention will reportedly see Caddy earning around $1.5 million per year over the duration of the contract; a sum that feels relatively tame given his potential stardom within that five-year stretch.
However, Tom Morris has stated that's it's the 21-year-old's loyalty and love for Essendon that renders the finances irrelevant.
“He is an incredibly loyal person,” Morris told SEN Breakfast.
“He is fully committed – he is the sort of guy that is just all in and just loves the club, even though since he last re-signed in June of 2025, they’ve won one game and lost 17.
“To extend by another three years is amazing. I’m told it’s not the money that we thought it might be - it’s nowhere near $2 million a year. It’s more like $1.5, which right now, is probably overs to what it’s worth.
“But by the end of his deal, 1.5 is unders. I’m surprised that – let’s say it’s $1.5 for 2029, 2030, 2031 – that is well unders what he should be worth then based on what we think he is able to achieve.”
“Why is he re-signing if it’s not overs? He is just an incredibly loyal person.”
Sam Edmund wasn’t so convinced that Caddy’s commitment was solely an act of loyalty, but potentially due to promises made by the club regarding their next senior coach.
“You’re paying on potential. At the moment, it’s miles overs,” Edmund said.
“You already were loyal when you signed for another two years. You can be incredibly loyal and re-sign in 2027 or in 2028.
“You don’t even know who your coach is... Or does he know?
“He wants to be a part of the solution, part of the fix. He wants to be there when it turns, and he wants to be the reason it turns. I get all that.
“It did break though that his old man was at Hurstbridge footy club for a function on a Friday afternoon. He got up and said yep, Nate’s re-signing.
“I’ll paraphrase him here, one of the reasons he is resigning is because James Hird is coming in to coach!”
Morris broke down the story, as was revealed by SEN’s Andy Maher on Wednesday afternoon.
Morris: “He said James Hird is coming in to be the coach.
“Andy Maher broke it on SEN’s The Run Home and Nate Caddy was asked yesterday about his dad’s comments!
“His response wasn’t overly convincing…”
Nate Caddy speaking on the incident:
“It is what it is. He is entitled to his opinion – he doesn’t know anything and I don’t know anything!
“People online saying that I knew and that was why I signed on, it wasn’t that. I think he just had an opinion of who he thought was best for the club.
“I can’t go back and tell him not to. He was a bit scared when he was getting phone calls saying, ‘what have you done!’”
The two journalists began connecting the dots over what could be a major misstep from Caddy’s father.
Edmund: “We should never assume that he knows what’s going on… but it does make you wonder. I’m not reporting anything here, I’m just wondering.
“His manager is Tom Petroro. Tom Petroro also manages a couple of coaches in waiting. One is Corey Enright and one is James Kelly.
“They are both going through the process at Essendon. It can be a very incestuous industry, where particular people have a lot of fingers in a lot of pies.
“Surely Nate Caddy and/or his manager sought some level of understanding over the direction that the club is going in with the senior coach. You would have to do that, wouldn’t you?”
Morris: “You would think so, but if you give that direction and it gets out… then you’re in real trouble if you’re Andrew Welsh.
“How do you sell the dream when you don’t know who the main character is going to be in the dream?”
Edmund: “That’s why I ask the question off the top… why now? It’s very interesting.
“Maybe more will be known in the fullness of time, but the bottom line is, it’s a great bit of news for Essendon, and gee, they desperately needed it.”
