GEELONG is set to reward Bailey Smith for his form since joining the club with a reworked contract and pay rise.

The superstar Cat, who is one of the game's biggest names, joined Geelong from the Western Bulldogs at the end of 2024 after missing that season with a knee reconstruction.

His six-year deal to the end of 2030 is believed to be around the $700,000 a season mark. But it can be revealed that talks between the Cats and Smith's manager, Robbie D'Orazio from CDG Sports, are close to seeing Smith lock in a pay rise to reflect his standing among the game's leading midfielders.

It comes on the back of his career-best year in 2025, when he joined the Cats and became an All-Australian as well as being a joint winner of the AFL Coaches Association's Champion Player of the Year award, alongside Gold Coast skipper Noah Anderson.

Whilst the move won't include an extension past 2030, the upped deal will put him alongside other game-breaking midfielders and comes after he finished second in the Cats' best and fairest last year behind fellow midfield dynamo Max Holmes.

As Smith left the Dogs at the end of his sixth season, his deal with Geelong was essentially his 'free agency' type of long-term deal, with the move to lift his pay coming as part of the Cats' plan to reward his performance.

Smith's marketability means he will also have an additional services agreement built into his deal, as per most of the game's biggest names, with the 25-year-old being the face of the Cats since joining the club.

He has started 2026 in strong form, including 40 disposals, six clearances and 10 tackles in last week's win over Adelaide.