‘People are spinning’: Footy legend drops $25 million bombshell

Watson on Tuesday morning said West Coast figures are under the impression the Saints have made Reid the biggest offer in the history of Australian football.

The former No. 1 draft pick’s contract saga has been a rollercoaster this season with Hawthorn and Essendon the clubs previously suggested to have been at the front of the queue trying to entice Reid back to Victoria.

However, Essendon icon Watson said on SEN Breakfast on Wednesday it is the Saints that have now caused a stir behind the scenes with an offer of $25 million.

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“They’ve also made a Godfather offer to Harley Reid of $25 million over 12 years. That’s the number that’s coming via the West Coast Eagles at the moment,” Watson, a former Channel 7 news presenter, said on SEN Breakfast.

“I’m not making this up. This is what I was told yesterday. This has absolutely got everybody in the footy world spinning.

“That’s the information that I received, that the West Coast Eagles believe that there’s been an offer tabled by St Kilda around $25 million over 12 years.”

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It was reported last month that the Eagles had dived further into the piggy bank to present Reid with multiple contract offers, including one reported to have been worth more than $20 million.

Watson said the rumoured plot to snatch Reid away from West Coast partly explains the playing group unrest at the Saints.

St Kilda is already fighting to retain superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and have reportedly already reached an agreement with Tom De Koning from Carlton.

News reports broke on Monday night to suggest a group of senior players at St Kilda are not happy with list-management decisions made by football department boss Graeme Allan and recruitment chief Stephen Silvagni.

The most damaging news surrounds All-Australian defender Cal Wilkie, with reports claiming he will “seek his options elsewhere” at the end of this season.

The 27-year-old’s deal at the Saints runs through 2027, meaning any departure would have to come via trade.

The Saints are thought to be offering Carlton ruckman De Koning $1.7 million per year, while they’re said to have tabled $1.4 million per season to Wanganeen-Milera to stay at Moorabbin.

They’ve also been strongly linked to and are expected to land out-of-contract GWS defender Leek Aleer on a considerable sum.

However, SEN SA’s Michelangelo Rucci reported on Monday that Wilkie, Jack Steele, Marcus Windhager and Rowan Marshall could be part of a mass St Kilda exodus at the end of the 2025 campaign.

Watson said the reported monster money for Wanganeen-Milera, Reid, Aleer and De Koning would explain why St Kilda players would feel “disgruntled”.

“When you think about it, if all that money was being paid out to those four players, particularly, you have to wonder what’s left,” Watson said.

“What do they have left to be able to pay the rest of their list? If all those (contract offers) landed and maybe they hope they don’t all land, then they have the irons in the fire and they have the potential to get some big names and keep NAS (Wanganeen-Milera), then they are serious about re-shaping their list, St Kilda.”

SEN’s Sam Edmund also said rival clubs believe Wilkie is “gettable” because he is “disillusioned” with the Saints.

“He’s particularly concerned about the list management workings of his football club,” Edmund said on Seven.

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The news about Reid is another blow to the Eagles, who were already fighting suggestions that Hawthorn was throwing the kitchen sink to land the star midfielder.

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Nine’s Tom Morris reported last week the Hawks were “all in” on Reid and Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters.

Reid’s management has reportedly made a counteroffer to West Coast in the vicinity of $24 million over 10 years — a two-year deal until 2027, then a nine-year extension — with the Hawks, Bombers and Cats among the rival clubs most consistently linked to the 20-year-old.

Reid isn’t out of contract until the end of the 2026 season.

Originally published as ‘People are spinning’: Footy legend drops $25 million bombshell