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The aspect of St Kilda mega deal that factored into Finn Callaghan's decision to stay a Giant
Nic Negrepontis • February 26th, 2025 11:04 am
Despite St Kilda reportedly placing a 10-year, $17 million offer in front of him, GWS midfielder Finn Callaghan admits he came to the decision to re-sign with the Giants pretty quickly.
The new deal was confirmed this week, with Callaghan ultimately turning down what would have been the largest deal in AFL history.
The 50-gamer and Melbourne Bayside product said he discussed the situation with his family, but knew he wanted to stay in Sydney.
“There was a fair bit to weigh up. At the end of the day, I spoke to my family and those closest to me and I always wanted to stay at the Giants, that was really clear from the start, but obviously when things like that come in you’ve always got to look at them and figure out what’s best for me and where I want to play my football,” Callaghan told SEN Breakfast.
“It was clear that I wanted to stay at the Giants and continue playing my footy here and I’m very happy with that decision and it was good to get it all done.”
The 21-year-old believes accepting an offer of that size to move clubs comes with a ton of external pressure, and this was something that factored into his decision making process.
“I think it would’ve put a lot of pressure (on me), yeah, if I moved clubs at this age and on a contract like that, that’s certainly a lot of pressure, but also I just really enjoy my football up here, I love the lifestyle, I love the team that we’re building up here and the culture that we have,” he said.
Despite having the life-changing offer on the table, Callaghan says the magnitude of it never weighed heavily on him.
“It certainly wasn’t keeping me awake at night thinking about it. When I started chatting to the club, it was probably about three weeks ago and so things moved pretty quickly,” he said.
“Once I decided I wanted to stay at the Giants, the actual negotiations was really quick and things were sorted out really well.”
Defender Connor Idun has joined Callaghan in recommitting long-term, signing a deal through to the end of 2032.
