Zak Butters may have had his $1,500 fine for umpire abuse overturned at the tribunal on Monday night, but a separate fine from round six has undone those savings, as he continues to add to his lead as the league's most fined player of all-time.
He was slapped with a $1,000 penalty in round six for striking Hawthorn forward Sam Butler, taking his career fine total to $51,125. The 23rd charge of his career.
The Port Adelaide star is, clearly, a bit of a hot-head. An aggressive midfielder who plays with his heart on his sleeve and attacks the contest hard.
READ MORE: Dragons rip 'fabricated' report as shock Young rift revealed
READ MORE: Hollands admitted to hospital as Blues probed over sad saga
READ MORE: Usain Bolt's timely advice to Aussie sprint star Gout Gout
That white-line fever boiled over when he was reported for umpire abuse by umpire Nick Foot. While the penalty was ultimately dismissed, it was due to a legal technicality and not because his name was cleared for the indiscretion.
Discounting that sanction, Butters has separately been fined twice this season already. The aforementioned incident with Butler, and $1,500 for engaging in a melee in round three, which officially ticked him over the $50,000 marker.
One of the game's best midfielders, he has won three straight Port Adelaide best and fairest awards and was crowned the AFL Coaches Association player of the year in 2023.
Racking up over $51,000 in fines from just 23 offences is a significant 'feat'. GWS captain Toby Greene sits just behind him with $48,850, but has been fined 31 times.
Butters was fined $4,125 in just one game early in the 2025 season for instigating a melee and then engaging in a separate scuffle.
In particular, 2024 was a rough year for him. He was fined $1,875 for engaging in a melee against Hawthorn, $6,250 for an off-the-ball bump (also against Hawthorn), $6,250 for an off-the-ball strike on Brisbane's Jarrod Berry, $5,000 for a bump on Richmond's James Trezise and then $1,875 for careless contact with an umpire.
In total, 2024 set him back a whopping $21,250.
Interestingly, while he has become the only player in V/AFL history to accumulate $50,000 worth of fines, the Power midfielder has actually only been suspended and missed weeks for two incidents in his career.
That was a two-game ban for a rough conduct bump against North Melbourne in 2020, and a one-game ban for a bump on GWS star Tom Green in 2024.
He has copped it hard in the hip pocket, but has only missed three career games through suspension.
Butters will certainly make up for the missing cash with his next contract.
The 25-year-old is out of contract at the end of the 2026 season and is viewed as potentially the game's biggest ever free agent.
He has been strongly linked with a move home to Victoria, with effectively every team putting their hand up to try and win his services.
Butters could command offers as high as $2m per season. Port Adelaide has already made clear that they will match any offer put to them by a rival club, given he is a restricted free agent.
This would force his team of choice to then put together a trade with the Power to get the deal done.
Unfortunately, teams can't offer to pay future fines on his behalf.
At just 25, Butters still has a long career ahead of him to add to the $51,000 tally.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.