TASMANIA has made Collingwood midfielder Beau McCreery a serious target for its list build as the Devils hit the market.

AFL.com.au can reveal McCreery, who turned 25 this week, has been identified as a real player of interest for the Devils with their suite of list concessions soon to come into effect.

It is understood the Devils would be prepared to put forward a deal up to seven years to lure McCreery as a prominent signing, at a rate of around $1 million a season.

Last year, there were 58 players in the AFL who were paid at least $1 million, with that number set to increase again this year and be closer to 75 players by the end of 2027 when the current Collective Bargaining Agreement ends.

McCreery is signed at the Magpies until the end of 2027, when he comes out of contract.

He won't be a free agent then, as it is the end of his seventh AFL season, however any out of contract player at the end of 2027 or 2028 can head to the Devils as a free agent under their list build rules, meaning the player's club can't force a trade but would be compensated by a pick or picks from the AFL.

The Devils can take a maximum of 18 players under those out-of-contract rules across two years, with a maximum of one player per club able to leave under that access.

Devils list boss Todd Patterson told AFL.com.au in an interview last week that the club's strategy was to prioritise out of contract players and free agents instead of trying to lure contracted stars to the fledgling club.

"It's a clear priority for us to hit the uncontracted and free agent market. We've got a lot of draft assets as people know, but it doesn't make a lot of sense for us to be unnecessarily giving those up for players when there's a pool of available players that we don't need to do that for. So that, at the moment, is a key focus for us," Patterson said.

"The best strategy is an adaptable one and we're clear that at some point in time during this list build, we're going to have to trade and it'll be on a case-by-case basis. But I don't think we can be too reckless in just trading away five or six draft picks for any single player."

McCreery has played 102 games with the Pies since being drafted in 2020, with his speed and power being an important addition to Collingwood's midfield more recently under coach Craig McRae.

The Devils have been meeting with player agents in recent months and have wanted to have at least a handful of players committed by the end of this season to join them at the end of 2027, when they officially enter the competition before a start in the 2028 season.