- Melbourne Demons are backing Kysaiah Pickett
- Looking to secure dynamic midfielder until 2034
- Contract reportedly worth a jaw-dropping $12million
Melbourne will hope their latest long-term contract gamble pays off after re-signing star forward Kysaiah Pickett on a monster seven-year extension.
Livewire Demons forward Pickett, already locked in for two more seasons, becomes the longest-contracted player in the AFL after rejecting the lure of a return to Western Australia to sign a deal that runs until the end of 2034.
Pickett will be 33 by the end of his new contract, a deal reportedly worth $12million that echoes blockbuster contracts handed to premiership teammates Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca in 2021.
The 24-year-old is in career-best form, shooting to stardom this year as one of the most lethal small forwards in the competition.
He leads 14th-placed Melbourne (5-8) with 21 goals after kicking three in their King’s Birthday blockbuster against Collingwood.
It was his five-goal haul against Fremantle in round six that helped spark the Demons after a dismal 0-5 start to the season.
The Melbourne Demons will hope their latest long-term contract gamble pays off after re-signing star forward Kysaiah Pickett on a monster seven-year extension until 2034
Pickett will be 33 by the end of his new contract, with the deal reportedly worth $12million
The length of the new deal is somewhat surprising, given Pickett has been open about struggling with homesickness since being drafted – and Melbourne would now have leverage if he seeks a move in the next few years.
It is also eyebrow-raising given similarly lucrative, long-term deals with Oliver and Petracca have proved testing for both the players and club.
Oliver signed a bumper seven-year extension until the end of 2030 off the back of Melbourne’s historic 2021 premiership.
The star midfielder has since only shown glimpses of the form that earned him four club best-and-fairest awards and three All-Australian nods as he continues to manage personal issues.
Petracca re-committed in 2021, when he won the Norm Smith medal, to stay until the end of 2029 before suffering life-threatening injuries in the King’s Birthday match last year.
Frustrated with Melbourne around their standards and their management of his injury, Petracca wanted out and was keen to explore a move to a big Victorian club.
Oliver himself met with Geelong officials and players to test interest in a trade last year. But both he and Petracca ultimately stayed.
Pickett’s contract extension means a significant chunk of Melbourne’s salary cap will likely be tied up in those three players.
Kysaiah Pickett joined the Demons in 2020 and was a premiership player the following season
The crafty forward had been at the centre of rampant trade speculation, given his family links to both Perth and Adelaide.
Fremantle, where 2021 premiership teammate Luke Jackson plays, was reported as a potential destination.
The support of former Demons player and club Indigenous project officer Matt Whelan helped Pickett come to his decision.
‘He understands what it’s like to be homesick, coming from Darwin,’ Pickett said in a club-produced video.
‘He’s been here since I’ve come, and he’s been very important. He’s the main reason why I do feel comfortable in this space.
‘He just let me do my own thing and come to a decision myself. ‘It hasn’t really sunk in that I’ll be in Melbourne for the next nine years.
‘It’s crazy to think that someone from Quairading (in WA), with not much as a little kid growing up, that they’ll be in AFL for so long.’
Drafted with pick No.12 in 2019, Pickett has booted 182 goals from 116 games.
Pickett’s deal eclipses Fremantle’s Hayden Young, who is signed until 2033.
Gold Coast’s Mac Andrew is on a five-year contract from 2025, which will be extended to 2034 if targets are met.
