WITH AFL.com.au breaking the huge news over the weekend of Zak Butters' move to the Western Bulldogs, it got us thinking about where the superstar's switch ranks among the biggest player moves of the modern era.
Butters could well be the biggest name in Bulldogs history to choose them as his new home, so what about the other superstars who picked your club?
We've cast our eye right back to assess some of the biggest trade and free agency deals and come up with the most high-profile recruit for every club since 1990.
Darren Jarman from Hawthorn, 1995
Crows get: Darren Jarman, Pick 45 (Scott Hodges)
Crows give: Sean Wellman, Pick 25 (Daniel Chick)
Jarman was an established star and premiership player with Hawthorn, playing 109 games for the Hawks and featuring in their 1991 flag in his debut year. The gifted midfielder was seeking a homecoming in SA, however, and was an incredible coup for the Crows, who mounted a long campaign to win his signature and orchestrated a three-way trade with the Hawks and Essendon that also involved Paul Salmon, Sean Wellman and Paul Barnard. As talented as Jarman already was, Adelaide could only dream of the impact he would go on to have, kicking five goals in a legendary final quarter in the 1997 Grand Final after being shifted to full-forward by coach Malcolm Blight. After leading the club to that historic first premiership, he booted five another goals in the 1998 Grand Final and went on to play 121 games for the Crows. He was this year inducted into the club's Hall of Fame. – Nathan Schmook
Alastair Lynch from Fitzroy, 1993
Bears get: Alastair Lynch
Bears give: Pick 7 (Chris Johnson)
This was a bombshell move, with Lynch signing for a then-record 10 seasons on a deal that ultimately paid him about $2 million. The Brisbane Bears, as the club was then, were desperate for a marquee signing to go alongside a handful of talented youngsters that included Michael Voss and Jason Akermanis. Lynch had won Fitzroy's best and fairest that year, was named an All-Australian and was fresh off a move from defence to the forward line. Lachie Neale's move to the Gabba late in 2018 rivals it, but someone of Lynch's stature and the magnitude of the deal made him too hard to pass. - Michael Whiting
Chris Judd to Carlton, 2007
Blues get: Chris Judd, Pick 46 (Dennis Armfield)
Blues give: Josh Kennedy, Pick 3 (Chris Masten), Pick 20 (Tony Notte)
It was arguably the biggest trade in history. Captain, Brownlow medallist, All-Australian, premiership skipper, Norm Smith medallist, club champion – Judd had packed a lot into six seasons with the Eagles when he announced he was on the move back to the east coast. The sought-after superstar met with four clubs – Essendon, Melbourne, Collingwood and Carlton – but it was the Blues that would win him over. Carlton was forced to pay a premium to land him, with some high-end picks and a young Josh Kennedy sent the Eagles' way. In hindsight, it was a win-win for both clubs, with Kennedy going on to become one of West Coast's greatest ever players. Judd's glittering career continued at the Blues, where he won three consecutive club champion awards, added to his All-Australian tally and claimed a second Brownlow Medal, cementing his place as both an AFL great and a Carlton champion. - Alison O'Connor
Nathan Buckley from Brisbane, 1993
Magpies get: Nathan Buckley
Magpies give: Pick 12 (Chris Scott), Craig Starcevich, Troy Lehmann
A trade a long time in the making ultimately cost the Magpies pick No.12 and two established players, but the deal was a big win for Collingwood. Buckley won the Rising Star in 1993 and finished second in Brisbane's best and fairest after joining the Bears out of the SANFL, but a move to Victoria was orchestrated well in advance with plenty of sliding doors moments. Buckley retired at the end of 2007 after adding 260 games to the 20 he played in Queensland and he finished as one of Collingwood's greatest ever players, earning All Australian selection seven times, a Brownlow Medal, a Norm Smith Medal and a spot in the Hall of Fame. - Josh Gabelich
Brendon Goddard from St Kilda, 2012
Bombers get: Brendon Goddard
Bombers give: Nothing
With free agency launching in 2012, Goddard's move to the Bombers from the Saints was arguably the most high-profile of the first moves using that mechanism as he joined Essendon on a four-year deal. A two-time All-Australian at St Kilda, Goddard ended up playing 129 games across six seasons at the Bombers and won the Crichton Medal in 2013, the only best and fairest of his career. While Goddard's arrival was a coup, hopes of success were quickly diminished amid the Essendon supplements saga, with the club barred from the 2013 finals series and players suspended for the 2016 season, during which Goddard captained the Bombers. - Dejan Kalinic
Tony Modra from Adelaide, 1998
Dockers get: Tony Modra
Dockers give: Pick 29 (Tyson Stenglein), Pick 34 (Bryan Beinke)
The Dockers desperately needed a superstar in the late '90s who could become an instant fan favourite and help draw crowds to watch a young and struggling club. Modra, who was among the most electrifying players of the decade, had missed Adelaide's back-to-back flags in 1997-98 due to a knee injury and then being dropped, and the stars aligned for him to make a fresh start with Freo in a bargain trade for the Dockers and an incredible coup. Modra booted 148 goals in 47 games for Freo and provided the club with some incredible highlights and memories at a time when winning was rare. When it comes to superstar signings that deliver success, Luke Jackson and Shai Bolton have that opportunity this season. - Nathan Schmook
Patrick Dangerfield from Adelaide, 2015
Cats get: Patrick Dangerfield, Pick 50 (not used)
Cats give: Dean Gore, Pick 9 (Wayne Milera), Pick 28 (Mitch Hibberd)
Patrick Dangerfield's trade to Geelong, after Adelaide flagged its intent to match any free agency offer, remains one of the defining moves of the AFL era. Unlike many marquee recruits who change clubs later in their careers, Dangerfield arrived at the Cats at the peak of his powers, fresh off his third All-Australian honour and established as one of the competition's most influential midfielders. The Moggs Creek product made an immediate impact, winning the Brownlow Medal in his first season at the club and helping Geelong remain a premiership contender for the next decade. Five years later, Jeremy Cameron's arrival was another landmark acquisition for Geelong. It became the first restricted free-agent move to result in an officially matched offer and subsequent trade, with Greater Western Sydney forcing Geelong to part with three first-round picks. - Emily Patterson
Gary Ablett jnr from Geelong, 2010
Suns get: Gary Ablett jnr
Suns give: Nothing
The biggest name in the game, Ablett was Gold Coast's marquee signing ahead of its first season. As part of their list build concessions, the Suns were allowed to sign one uncontracted player from each club, with the Brownlow medallist, four-time All-Australian and two-time premiership player taking up a lucrative offer to head north. In return the AFL gave Geelong two compensation picks to be used in the coming years, which they used to acquire Billie Smedts in 2010 and Josh Caddy, from the Suns, in 2012. - Michael Whiting
Ryan Griffen from Western Bulldogs, 2014
Giants get: Ryan Griffen, Pick 6 (Caleb Marchbank)
Giants give: Tom Boyd
The trade that sent Ryan Griffen to Greater Western Sydney was a significant one for both clubs. An incumbent club captain requesting a move away from his team was almost unheard of at the time, and Griffen's shock decision triggered a chain of events that reshaped both the Giants and the Bulldogs. His departure exposed tensions with then-Western Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney, who resigned soon after. The deal saw GWS surrender the previous year's No.1 draft pick, Tom Boyd, to secure Griffen in a blockbuster exchange that pitted established leadership against future potential. For the Giants, landing a two-time Charles Sutton medallist and receiving pick 6 provided immediate credibility, experience and professionalism as the expansion club sought to accelerate its rise towards premiership contention. - Emily Patterson
Shaun Burgoyne from Port Adelaide, 2009
Hawks get: Shaun Burgoyne, Pick 58 (Rhan Hooper)
Hawks give: Mark Williams (to Essendon), Pick 9 (Andrew Moore), Pick 89 (unused)
Hawthorn's move for Burgoyne was as bold at the time as it was brilliant in hindsight. At the age of 28, the Port Adelaide premiership player and vice-captain was coming off an injury-interrupted season and with serious question marks over his long-term durability. Yet the Hawks saw a footballer with extraordinary poise, versatility and leadership, one that could add to a group coming off the 2008 flag. He arrived at Hawthorn as part of a complex four-club trade but it's a move that paid off handsomely, with Burgoyne becoming a key figure in the club's famous 2013-15 three-peat. He played 250 games in brown and gold, becoming the first Indigenous player to reach the 400-game milestone, before finishing his career on 407 matches. - Brandon Cohen
Jeff White from Fremantle, 1997
Demons get: Jeff White, Pick 22 (Troy Longmuir)
Demons give: Pick 2 (Brad Ottens), Pick 18 (Mark Alvey)
The former No.1 pick's bombshell move after three seasons at Fremantle saw Melbourne secure one of the game's most highly rated young rucks. The Dees had to cough up to get the deal done, handing over their two highest selections in the 1997 draft. It was a hefty price, but one that paid off in spades. White became Melbourne's premier big man over the next decade and played a pivotal role in the club's resurgence under the late, great Neale Daniher. He played 236 games across 11 seasons with the Dees, earned All-Australian honours, won a Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal and was a key figure in six finals campaigns, including the club's run to the 2000 Grand Final. - Alison O'Connor
Leigh Colbert from Geelong, 1999
Kangaroos get: Leigh Colbert, Pick 53 (Clayton Lasscock), Pick 67 (Robert Shirley)
Kangaroos give: Cameron Mooney, Pick 15 (David Spriggs), Pick 17 (Ezra Bray), Pick 47 (Corey Enright)
Colbert wasn't the biggest name in the game at the end of the 1999 season, but the Geelong captain's move to North Melbourne sent shockwaves around the competition. Colbert missed the entire 1999 campaign due to a knee injury and then left the Cats, who finished 11th that season, for the reigning premier, sparking a wave of anger from those at Kardinia Park. But the Cats made the most of the deal, getting Cameron Mooney in the trade and using pick 47 on Corey Enright, with both players key parts of the club's premiership era. - Martin Smith
Gavin Wanganeen from Essendon, 1996
Power gets: Gavin Wanganeen
Power gives: Pick 2 (Chris Heffernan), Pick 25 (Andrew Bomford)
It was the return of the prodigal son, when Wanganeen headed back to Port Adelaide ahead of its inaugural AFL season in 1997 following six seasons at Essendon. Wanganeen had played for the Magpies in the 1990 SANFL season as a 16-year-old, winning the competition's Rookie of the Year award, before the Bombers snapped him up with pick No.12 in the draft. He won a premiership and Brownlow Medal in 1993 under Kevin Sheedy and by the time Port entered the competition, was a three-time All-Australian. Already a star of the competition, the South Australian would only enhance his glittering reputation with 10 seasons at Port, winning another premiership and two more AA blazers. - Michael Whiting
Tom Lynch from Gold Coast, 2018
Tigers get: Tom Lynch
Tigers give: Nothing
The Tigers were close to their peak when they landed spearhead Tom Lynch to join Jack Riewoldt in attack, winning the race ahead of perennial powerhouses Collingwood and Hawthorn. Lynch himself was Gold Coast co-captain at the time, and sidelined with a knee injury when he told the Suns he was going to exercise his restricted free agency rights at the start of August. The Suns then stripped him of the captaincy for the remainder of the season. He ultimately signed a seven-year mega-deal with Richmond, which paid immediate dividends when he dragged the Tigers into the 2019 Grand Final with a sterling preliminary final performance against Geelong. While a different kind of signing, troubled Brownlow medallist Ben Cousins joining Richmond via the 2009 pre-season draft was just as big a story as Lynch. - Sarah Black
Aaron Hamill from Carlton, 2000
Saints get: Aaron Hamill
Saints give: Sam Cranage, pick 4 (Luke Livingston)
St Kilda went hard in its 2000 trade haul, shipping Hamill in from the Blues as well as Fraser Gehrig from West Coast. Hamill was already an established player after five years at the Blues that included playing in their 1999 Grand Final side. The Saints parted with pick No.4 to lure Hamill to Moorabbin, where he went on to play 98 games for the Saints and kick 125 goals, captaining the side in 2003. While Gehrig was already an All-Australian by time he arrived at the Saints, his career really kicked off in the red, white and black, developing into the game's most imposing full-forward and becoming a cult figure who would go down in footy folklore. Along with trading David Sierakowski, the Saints parted with pick No.18 for Gehrig, with which the Eagles drafted Daniel Kerr, but the fans would firmly consider the dual Coleman medallist one of their most beloved St Kilda figures. - Sophie Welsh
Lance Franklin from Hawthorn, 2013
Swans get: Lance Franklin
Swans give: Nothing
Lance Franklin's move away from Hawthorn had long been expected, but landing at the Swans was a move that shocked the competition. Widely expected to join Greater Western Sydney, Franklin stunned the football world by choosing Sydney in a secret deal. The Swans secured the game's biggest star and a two-time premiership player on a record-breaking nine-year, $10 million contract. Despite early scepticism, Franklin justified the investment, kicking more than 480 goals for the Swans, reaching the 1000-goal milestone and helping Sydney reach three Grand Finals. Years earlier, Tony Lockett's move from St Kilda proved similarly transformative, bringing the game's greatest goalkicker to the Harbour City and helping reshape both Sydney's fortunes and the code's profile in New South Wales. - Emily Patterson
Tim Kelly from Geelong, 2019
Eagles get: Tim Kelly, Pick 52 (not used), future third-round pick (not used)
Eagles give: Pick 14 (Cooper Stephens), Pick 24 (Jeremy Sharp), Pick 33 (Nick Bryan), future first-round pick (Ryan Angwin)
When it comes to targeting a big-name AFL player and bringing them to the club, Tim Kelly is the standout for West Coast. Key forward Josh Kennedy changed the club's history but was not established when he was included in the Chris Judd trade, while Sam Mitchell arrived for the final season of his career. Kelly, however, was one of the game's best midfielders in 2019, winning All-Australian selection in his second season, finishing top five in the Brownlow Medal, and placing second in the Geelong's club champion award in back-to-back years. The trade was designed to extend the Eagles' premiership window but is noted now for the heavy price the Eagles paid and how it set back their eventual rebuild. Kelly has largely held up his end of the bargain, winning the John Worsfold Medal in 2023, finishing third in 2026, and carrying a significant midfield load through several difficult seasons as the next generation of young Eagles emerge. – Nathan Schmook
Zak Butters from Port Adelaide, 2026
Bulldogs get: Zak Butters, TBC
Bulldogs give: TBC
There have been bigger names to play for the Bulldogs (see Marcus Bontempelli), but it's been rare for the sons of the west to recruit a genuine superstar of the competition at the peak of his powers. Butters' decision last week to choose the Bulldogs over Geelong is a genuine coup for the Dogs and validation of the club as a premiership threat. They've paid up big for the superstar midfielder, but every indication so far in his career is he'll be worth the investment. Now, to the small matter of getting the deal done. - Martin Smith