Gary Ablett has put his hand into his own pocket, forgoing a six-figure sum of money due to him from the Gold Coast in order to accommodate the Suns and his own wish to end his playing career with Geelong.

In a bid to push through a complex deal with the Cats, Ablett and his manager Liam Pickering told Gold Coast bosses several weeks ago that the champion player would ensure the Suns be repaid the estimated $300,000 from his front-ended contract.

The Ablett camp indicated that because the dual Brownlow medallist was walking out on the final year of that contract, the money due to the Suns would be repaid even if it meant Ablett waiving a big chunk of his Geelong wage next season. The prevailing view is that the Cats and Ablett will together compensate the Suns.

Put simply, were Darcy Lang, for example, to agree to be traded to the Gold Coast, Ablett would take a significant pay cut next season for that money to be forwarded to Lang.