Take less to win more, that's my message to AFL players who are approaching the end of their contracts.

In an era where free-agency has given players more power than ever before, they’re being pigeon-holed as being football mercenaries who are all about the dollar - But it’s not true.

Sure, they’re on the lookout to maximize their financial worth and set themselves up for life, but to say they will always go to the highest bidder is simply incorrect.

You only need to look at history to see not all the big-name players jump ship for a bigger pay check when they fall out of contract.

Local stars like Travis Boak, Rory Sloane, Robbie Gray and Daniel Talia shunned big money offers to return home to Victoria, instead choosing to re-commit to their clubs and continue to chase the ultimate success in South Australia.

And who can forget Dustin Martin recommitting to Richmond when superior offers were on the table, so to when Andrew Gaff ignored the lure of a big money move home to Victoria to stay for much less in the hope of claiming premiership glory with West Coast.

First and foremost, players play AFL because they love it and they want to achieve ultimate success.

And while money is a serious consideration, it’s by no means the sole reason when deciding your playing future.

Throw in the club’s culture, staff, fans, lifestyle and geographical location - there are many reasons why some fail to understand why a player elects to stay put.

From personal experience there is nothing like being part of building a premiership project from the bottom up. It means so much more after going through the tough times and coming out the other side.

That's why it will be interesting to see what Essendon restricted free-agent Zac Merrett chooses to do with his looming contract decision.

Will he look to move on? potentially to a ready-made final’s contender, or does he re-commit Essendon and Ben Ruttens re-build?

A similar scenario confronts Carlton’s skipper Patrick Cripps, does he head home to Western Australia as a restricted free-agent or will he re-commit and see through the Blues long-standing rebuild.

It’s not too dissimilar to the recent decision facing some of our coaches.

It wasn't long ago North Melbourne approached former Kangaroos premiership player and Sydney premiership coach John Longmire with an open checkbook to take over the coaching reigns.

However, he declined the offer, opting instead to re-commit to the Swans rebuild for another three years until 2023.

Many believe it was a fate’ accompli, like players, coaches are invested in their clubs 100% and for a coach to move on it normally means there’s an unhappy relationship between coach and club - something clearly not the case in Sydney.

And while the regular commentary is always about the size of the deal on offer and how much a player or coach will earn, it is so much more than that.

The notion that players and coaches will always leave for money shows a complete lack of understanding and appreciation for the individual in question and the culture of the club they are at. And we should never underestimate the valued relationships they form.

Historically premiership teams are made up of players and coaches who have had to sacrifice money and financial gain to keep the group together to claim premiership glory.

And that's why when players and coaches weigh up their future I urge them to take less so they can win so much more.