CHAMPION St Kilda forward Nick Riewoldt has been awarded the 2017 AFL Players' Association Madden Medal.

The prize goes to a retiring player who had an outstanding career and has set himself up well off-field in terms of personal development and growth, as well as displaying community spirit.

Riewoldt lined up in 336 matches after being drafted with the first selection in 2000 and captained the club on 220 occasions, which ranks third all-time.

As well as enjoying a career that yielded 718 goals and six Trevor Barker Awards as St Kilda's club champion, Riewoldt has completed tertiary study including a Bachelor of Exercise Science and Business (Sport Management).

He is a co-founder and chairperson of Maddie Riewoldt's Vision, which raises money to fund treatments and cures of bone marrow failure syndromes, after his younger sister died in 2015 from a rare blood disease called aplastic anaemia.

"To receive any award which is voted on and overseen by your peers is a great honour, and to win one which also bears the Madden name is especially significant. Both Simon and Justin Madden achieved incredibly high standards in both their football and professional careers and have served as great motivation for hundreds of our alumni," Riewoldt said in a statement.

"I always believed that my actions on the field offered an insight into who I was as a person, and while incredibly important to me, I didn't want to be defined by them. Rather, I wanted to utilise the skills that football helped me develop on a platform that transcended sport."

Other nominees were Riewoldt's former teammate Leigh Montagna, Matthew Boyd, Tom Lonergan, Sam Mitchell, Robert Murphy, Drew Petrie, Matt Priddis, Andrew Swallow and Jobe Watson.

"That's what really makes it stand out. You look at the other guys that are nominated, guys that I've played a lot of footy with and against and developed great respect for. Not just on the field, but also off the field, which I hope the medal encapsulates. It's very humbling," Riewoldt said.

Voting is done by the AFLPA board and past winners, a group that includes champions Matthew Pavlich, Chris Judd and Glenn Archer.

"Nick has had an extraordinary career and will go down in history as one of the great legends of this game. His leadership, courage and class on the field has been mirrored in the way he conducts himself off the field," Simon Madden said.