Surprise Eagle joins in-demand stars among restricted free agents available at the end of the 2026 season

Bailey Williams, Zak Butters and Zac Bailey. Picture: AFL Photos

WEST Coast ruckman Bailey Williams is the shock restricted free agent after bandings were released to clubs on Monday.

Williams is one of only six restricted free agents to be on the market this year as he comes out of contract, with the 25-year-old yet to feature at AFL level for the Eagles this year.    

The Eagles big man joins a group of five other players who qualify as restricted free agents, along with Port Adelaide superstar Zak Butters, Brisbane jet Zac Bailey, Gold Coast spearhead Ben King, Melbourne’s Bayley Fritsch and Hawthorn’s Jarman Impey.

This means their clubs will be able to match offers for them under free agency rules and force a trade if they choose to explore a move.

The full list of unrestricted free agents is available below. 

There are 101 free agents now in total, which includes players who were previously delisted and are now out of contract or previously moved clubs under free agency. 

Richmond pair Nick Vlastuin and Toby Nankervis were expected to be on the list, however Vlastuin’s deal was extended to 2027 and Nankervis hit a trigger to also take him through to the end of next year. 

2026 RESTRICTED FREE AGENCY LIST

BRISBANE
Zac Bailey

GOLD COAST
Ben King

HAWTHORN
Jarman Impey 

MELBOURNE
Bayley Fritsch

PORT ADELAIDE
Zak Butters

WEST COAST
Bailey Williams

2026 UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENCY LIST

*Denotes player is eligible for free agency after being previously delisted in their career.
^Denotes player is eligible for free agency after previously changing clubs as a free agent. 

ADELAIDE 
James Borlase*
Jordon Butts
Mitch Hinge*
Chayce Jones
Lachie Sholl
Taylor Walker
Tyler Welsh*

BRISBANE 
Darragh Joyce*
Ryan Lester
Lincoln McCarthy
Lachie Neale
Dayne Zorko

CARLTON 
Wade Derksen*
Francis Evans*
Nick Haynes^
Elijah Hollands*
Mitch McGovern
Nic Newman
Zac Williams^

COLLINGWOOD 
Jack Crisp
Jeremy Howe
Tim Membrey^*
Scott Pendlebury
Steele Sidebottom

Jack Crisp during the round 16 match between Collingwood and West Coast at Marvel Stadium on June 28, 2025. Picture: Getty Images/AFL Photos

ESSENDON 
Jade Gresham^
Matt Guelfi
Liam McMahon*
Jaxon Prior*
Will Setterfield*

FREMANTLE 
Bailey Banfield*
Oscar McDonald*
Sam Sturt
Sam Switkowski
Corey Wagner*

GEELONG 
Jed Bews
Mark Blicavs
Patrick Dangerfield
Jake Kolodjashnij
Keighton Matofai-Forbes* 
Jack Martin*
Mark O’Connor
Rhys Stanley
George Stevens*

GOLD COAST 
Oscar Adams*
Caleb Graham
Nick Holman
Ben Jepson*
Lachie Weller
Jarrod Witts

Ben King during the R1 match between Gold Coast and West Coast at People First Stadium on March 15, 2026. Picture: AFL Photos

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 
Kieren Briggs
Stephen Coniglio
Toby Greene
Jayden Laverde*
Jake Stringer* 
Conor Stone* 

HAWTHORN 
Jack Gunston
Mitch Lewis
Harry Morrison
Flynn Perez* 

MELBOURNE 
Tom Campbell^
Kade Chandler
Jai Culley*
Tom McDonald
Jake Melksham
Christian Salem
Tom Sparrow

NORTH MELBOURNE 
Aidan Corr^
Luke McDonald
Toby Pink*
Bailey Scott

PORT ADELAIDE
Darcy Byrne-Jones
Ollie Wines

RICHMOND
Nathan Broad
Tom Lynch
Dion Prestia

Dion Prestia during the Round 21 match between Richmond and Gold Coast at People First Stadium on August 2, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

ST KILDA 
Ryan Byrnes*
Jack Carroll*
Patrick Said*
Liam Stocker*

SYDNEY 
Joel Amartey
Harry Cunningham
Joel Hamling*
Jake Lloyd
Dane Rampe

WEST COAST 
Tom Cole
Jamie Cripps
Matthew Flynn^
Harry Schoenberg*

WESTERN BULLDOGS 
Oskar Baker*
Lachie Bramble*
Ryan Gardner*
Buku Khamis
Tom Liberatore
Lachie McNeil*