“Why would they do that?”: Cornes adamant Bombers should not renegotiate Merrett contract

Kane Cornes doesn’t believe Essendon has any need to renegotiate with Zach Merrett, despite revelations he is underpaid given his output.

Tom Morris revealed last week that St Kilda unofficially put an offer to the Essendon skipper, one that he confirmed was real, though he is staying put at Tullamarine.

Morris confirmed on SEN that the offer from the Saints to Merrett was as much as $1.5 million a season – more than double what he will likely earn over the next few seasons, given he signed a front-ended contract in 2021 worth approximately $800,000 a season.

He is locked in with Essendon until the end of 2027 on a contract that does not increase with the salary cap.

When asked whether the Dons should renegotiate the deal to keep their skipper happy, Cornes said Merrett should have thought of that when he agreed to a six-year contract.

“Why would they do that? He was happy to sign a six-year deal not that long ago and just because there’s a club who wants to pay him more, what’s the benefit for Essendon to use more of their salary cap just to satisfy Merrett?” Cornes posed on SEN Breakfast.

“He should have thought about this when he signed for six years. Sign for two. Surely you can clearly foresee where the salary cap is going to go.

“If you want the security of a six-year deal and the club is willing to do it, there’s players everywhere underpaid.

“St Kilda could do the same thing with Isaac Heeney and he could then go to Sydney (and ask for more money). Where does it stop?

“It would be a ridiculous thing for Essendon to do. Why do they need to do anything? When he comes out of contract he will be 32 and won’t be worth $1.5 million.

“There’s no reason for Essendon to do anything other than just to keep him happy after another club offered him more money. He should’ve thought of that before he signed a six-year extension.”

Morris believes it is likely that the Bombers will attempt to renegotiate the contact with Merrett at some stage.