Important Port Adelaide duo Zak Butters and Ryan Burton are set to extend their contracts with the club.
SEN SA’s Andrew Hayes reported on 7 News in Adelaide that both Butters and Burton will soon sign on with the Power.
Butters, 21, and Burton, 25, are both out of contract at the end of this season.
Hayes and co-host Kane Cornes discussed the situation on SEN SA Breakfast and what sort of money Butters, who is being earmarked as a star of the future, could command at the club.
“In terms of the length we’re not really sure, but what we do know is that we could probably expect something coming up pretty shortly, which is good news,” said Hayes of the Port pair.
“Particularly for Zak Butters who is off contract. If everything went the way it was supposed to, I dare say he’s going to be an All-Australian if he stays fit.
“To get him locked away would be a huge result for Port Adelaide because he’d be commanding some serious money towards the end of the year if he held out.”
Cornes posed the question whether or not the talented midfielder-forward could perhaps become the club’s best rewarded player with his impending new deal.
He said: “Should this contract make him Port Adelaide’s highest paid player?
“You’ve got a Brownlow Medallist there who is already on contract, but should Zak Butters’ contract be more than Ollie Wines’?”
Hayes replied: “Right now, no, because it’s still based on potential.”
Cornes added: “What is Zak Butters worth?
“He’s worth $700 to $800,000 to stay at Port, and some Victorian club would pay him over $900,000, I reckon.
“That’s huge money. But when you listen to them talk about him, everyone just raves about him. Ken Hinkley says he’s the best of the lot.”
Hayes concluded: “What’s most impressive about Zak Butters is it looks like he’s got the mentality to be an absolute star.
“The way that he speaks about it, you can tell that he’s got a genuine confidence about him as well. It’s not arrogance.
“You can tell that if he was going to be that elite player, he would enjoy that pressure.”
Butters has played 48 games for the club across three seasons, but had half of his 2021 wiped out by ankle issues.
Former Hawk Burton enjoyed a quality campaign in Power colours, finishing sixth in the best and fairest last year, having missed most of 2020 through injury.
It’s a big year for the Power in terms of contracts, with the likes of Connor Rozee, Karl Amon, Dan Houston, Robbie Gray and Travis Boak still up for extension.
“So they’re going to have to get busy,” said Cornes.
Hinkley’s side kicks off season 2022 against Brisbane at the Gabba next Saturday night.
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