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Carlton facing enormous fight to keep De Koning as rival considers life-changing offer
Sam Edmund • February 4th, 2025 9:09 am
Carlton could face an enormous fight to retain Tom De Koning, with St Kilda considering a life-changing offer to the Blues big man.
De Koning’s 2025 free agency eligibility has catapulted him to one of the most sought-after players in the game as rival clubs swoon over the 25-year-old.
But it’s the Saints who have once again stunned industry figures with an apparent willingness to splash enormous cash.
While it must be stressed that no offer has been formally tabled, multiple sources familiar with the situation said the Saints have indicated they would be prepared to give De Koning a seven-year contract worth close to $12 million.
The eye-watering deal would equate to around $1.7 million a season.
It means that even if De Koning chose to stay at Carlton in that scenario, he would be sacrificing somewhere in the vicinity of $700,000 a season, or conservatively, around $4 million over the life of the contract.
The salary cap has this year leapt to $17.7 million per club, up from $15.7 million last year. It will be nearly $18.3 million in 2026.
St Kilda has not been shy in hunting rival stars in recent times, having chased then-free agent Jordan De Goey in 2022, Essendon captain Zach Merrett last year and Luke Davies-Uniacke and Andrew Brayshaw into this year. GWS midfielder Finn Callaghan is also a player of interest.
Touted as a future star of the competition, De Koning took flight in the first half of last year to seize the No.1 ruck role at Carlton, before injury again struck in the back end of the season.
In a season of player movement intrigue, Chad Warner, Matt Rowell and Brayden Maynard also sit among a high-profile group with big decisions to make on their futures.
