Bailey Smith is on the verge of signing a huge pay day with the Cats, according to Footy Classified reporter Cal Twomey.
Twomey reports that his initial deal with Geelong was worth roughly $700,000 per season, well below what some of the game’s top stars earn.
Smith was still in his first season back from a torn ACL upon joining the Cats, before having a breakout 2025 that saw him finish third in the Brownlow Medal and win the AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year award.
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Bailey Smith of the Cats celebrates kicking a goal. Getty
He is signed until the end of 2030, and while the length of the contract won’t change, the financial value of it will.
“Bailey Smith is on the verge of an upgraded contract. His deal that he signed when he came across from the Western Bulldogs goes through until 2030, but they’re close to an agreement that will take him to the game’s best paid midfielders,” Twomey told Nine’s Footy Classified.
“He signed on for about $700,000 or so, now he’ll be lifted up to the very elite. It won’t change in terms of the tenure (still out of contract at the end of 2030), but I think it’s good business and the Cats rewarding him on the back of last year.”
While ‘game’s best paid midfielders’ is a vague metric, it will certainly take the Geelong star over the $1m mark per season.
Smith averaged a career high 31 disposals, as well as career highs in clearances, inside 50s, tackles and marks per game.
Former Geelong star Isaac Smith backs the club’s call to give the 25-year-old a significant pay rise.
“One-hundred per cent (the right decision). I think sometimes the stars in the game get missed financially,” Smith said.
“And if he’s getting voted by the coaches as the best midfielder in it, I think Nick Daicos or Marcus Bontempelli have that mantle, but $700,000 is an average wage in the AFL, so he 100 per cent needs to be bumped up.”
Bailey Smith of the Cats and Andrew Dillon, Chief Executive Officer of the AFL are seen during the 2025 Brownlow Medal  AFL Photos via Getty Images
Bailey Smith’s on field performance was certainly the best of his career, but he found himself in hot water off of it on multiple occasions.
He was fined during Gather Round for giving the middle finger to a fan, verbally abused a photographer at Geelong training and his antics during the club’s Mad Monday celebration saw the Cats’ decades-old tradition of dressing up indefinitely shelved.
Smith received a personal visit from AFL boss Andrew Dillon during the season to discuss behavioural standards.
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His captain Patrick Dangerfield reflected on that duality in the off-season, saying Smith remained a work in progress.
“He’s had a great pre-season on the track. Poor season off the track… that’s OK, we’ll get there eventually,” Dangerfield told 3AW in February.
“One day, at some point, hopefully soon… but not yet.”
Smith dominated in round three, finding 40 disposals and laying 10 tackles in the club’s win over Adelaide.