Greater Western Sydney's star forward Toby Greene will play for less than half his annual salary next year to help the Giants deal with a tight salary cap.

Greene, who signed a huge six-year deal in March, is understood to be playing for close to the average AFL player's salary of about $300,000 to $350,000 - an arrangement that came after the Giants approached several key players following the 2017 season and asked them to re-negotiate contracts and accept less money in the short-term to help the club repair its then-bursting salary cap.

Greene, despite his record of indiscretions on and off the field, is a much-loved figure at GWS and is strongly committed to the club. He is still being paid handsomely by the Giants over the course of his new six-year deal, estimated to be average around $750,000 a season, with the amount much lower in the first season.

The Giants' player payments have been hit hard by the loss of the contentious Cost of Living Allowance, which was removed by the AFL from both Sydney clubs after the Swans stunned the AFL Commission in late 2013 by signing Lance Franklin - whom the league had hoped would go to the Giants - on a nine-year, $10 million deal.