Richmond great Matthew Richardson has urged Dustin Martin to think beyond North Melbourne’s massive AFL offer as D-Day looms on his future.
Martin could make the call as early as this week, with the Herald Sun reporting that he will fly to New Zealand on Monday to meet with his father.
Richmond and North have tabled seven-year offers to the star midfielder, who becomes a restricted free agent after this season.
North’s offer is reportedly worth a whopping $2.8 million more than Richmond.
Martin’s playing future has been one of the major stories of this season.
Richardson, who works part-time at Richmond, said Martin should assess the pros and cons of the two offers.
He said if Martin stays at the Tigers, it would work out well for him financially in the long-term.
“If you do the pros and cons, you would then go ‘to stay at Richmond, seven years, I will end up retiring an all-time great of the club’,” Richardson said on 3AW.
“I will be loved by a huge fan base, I will have been in a stable place and I will have boundless opportunities moving forward, because of the relationships I’ve built over 15-16 years at one football club.
“My life will be pretty secure with that.
“It will all even up over the long run.”
But Richardson said he understood why Martin would be tempted by North.
“A lot of people would understand why (he might leave) – that is a lot of money,” he said.
“Maybe he wants a change of environment? I don’t think he does, though.”
Martin’s father Shane was deported from Australia to NZ last year because of alleged links to the Rebels motorcycle club.
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