Max King hasn't played an AFL game for St Kilda since signing an extension on his contract in October 2024 that tied him at the club for the next eight years.
The King situation is an example of the perils AFL clubs can face when they choose to lock a player in for long-term.
While Lance Franklin's nine-year deal at Sydney was one of the first epic length contracts, they are now happening regularly.
The Sporting News looks at which long-term AFL contracts currently appear dicey for the clubs that handed them out.
MORE: Max King's potential St Kilda contract disaster a warning for AFL clubs chasing Oscar Allen
5. Mac Andrew (Gold Coast) - 2034
In September 2024, Andrew signed what was billed as the biggest contract in AFL history at the time - a five-year extension, with a four-year clause, tying him to Gold Coast until the end of the 2034 season.
It's understood the 21-year-old's contract is worth around $12 million over the nine-year term.
However, since signing the new deal, Andrew has stagnated in his development, including coming in for criticism after a four-possession effort against GWS on the weekend.
“He’s 21 years of age now, he’s signed a big deal, he’s played (53) games of footy. He gets the big match-ups, he’s got to be better than this,” David King told Fox Footy’s First Crack.
“Crunch moments in the game, and he started the nervousness down back — he started the slide.
“I keep saying it — if you put your hand out, you’ve got to put your hand up. When the moments are there to win your one-on-ones, and be smart and calm and controlled, that’s why they’re signing you to long-term deals.
“He had four or five horrors (and) in the end, they had to get him out of the back line. They had to get him forward, because he was just leaking too heavily.
“The pressure (is) on Mac. It’s time to get your head right, and get back in the game. Get back to the Mac that we had 12 months ago, not the Mac that we’ve got right now.”
Andrew's tender age of 21 means there could be plenty of improvement left in his performances but the Suns will be concerned about his output in 2025.
4. Harry McKay (Carlton) - 2030
McKay is an All-Australian and Coleman medallist and the Blues were right to sign him up on a long-term deal.
But McKay is an example that things can change quickly during a long contract where the situation becomes a problem for the club.
His availability to play senior football because of a variety of body issues means that it's hard for him to be a reliable option for Carlton.
McKay has also had periods where he has completely lost his confidence in kicking for goal.
There have been rumours of the Blues being open to trade him in previous years and that could be entertained once again at the end of this season.
So far, McKay has played seven games for nine goals and is not due back from a knee injury for 4-6 weeks.
3. Noah Balta (Richmond) - 2032
Could it be a sliding doors moment for Richmond?
Balta's previous contract expired at the end of this season, but he signed an extension last year that locked him at Punt Rd until the end of 2032.
If the versatile tall left Richmond as a free agent at the end of 2025, he would have likely commanded first-round compensation for the Tigers.
Prior to Round 16, this would see Richmond receive pick 2 for finishing second-last, pick 3 as compensation for Balta and pick 4 as they hold North Melbourne's first-round pick.
However, the Tigers chose to lock Balta down to a long-term contract, with the defender repaying them by being found guilty of an assault just before New Year's.
Because of the ongoing legal case and being given a curfew as part of his sentence, Balta has only played six games in 2025 and has struggled to look like a player worth a mammoth contract.
There is time for Balta to settle and get off this list but there must be a lingering concern at the Tigers after the last six months.
2. Clayton Oliver (Melbourne) - 2030
Oliver is a premiership player, three-time All Australian and two-time winner of the AFL Coaches MVP - an award that some consider harder to win than the Brownlow.
He is another player whose contract looked to be of value when it was initially signed in June 2022, locking him in until end of 2030 - ironically with headlines that said, 'Demon for life'.
However, after some significant off-field issues and a large dip in form across recent seasons, Melbourne have tried to move Oliver on but have been hindered by the contract they commissioned.
Oliver has played better this season than he did across 2024, but is still well short of the form he showed in his early career, when he was arguably the best player in the game.
At nearly 28 years old, Oliver should be moving into his prime as a midfielder and he could still enter that phase at the Demons or another club.
But right now, his mega contract is a problem for Melbourne, who don't know whether to persevere or take a huge financial hit to move the player on.
1. Max King (St Kilda) - 2032
Injuries can unluckily happen to players and either cut short or complicate contracts.
But St Kilda signed Max King to an eight-year deal after two injury-hit seasons where he only played 11 (2023) and 12 games (2024) because of shoulder and knee injuries.
Since penning that deal in October 2024, King has failed to play for the Saints and has had multiple surgeries on a chronic knee injury in the last nine months.
The 24-year-old has been ruled out for the rest of 2025 season as he undergoes surgery once again on his knee.
St Kilda have maintained the company line that they are about the long-term when it comes to King and this will all be forgotten when the player is fit in the coming years.
Which is probably true.
But the flip side is the player struggles to recover from chronic knee injuries and the Saints are left with a monster contract problem that seems entirely of their making.