A staggering nine-year deal lands Sydney Swans the AFL's biggest catch Lance Franklin celebrates Hawthorn's win in the AFL Grand Final. A STAGGERING nine-year deal worth close to $10 million has landed the Swans biggest catch in the AFL, Lance Franklin. Not since Alastair Lynch signed a 10-year deal with the Brisbane Lions in the mid 1990s has such a long-term agreement been made. The 26-year-old Hawk is a year older than Lynch was when he signed his contract with Brisbane. The contract is heavily back-ended to allow Franklin to fit under Sydney's salary cap which has been stretched to accommodate Kurt Tippett. The AFL yesterday confirmed it would investigate the deal, interviewing key Sydney officials to ensure they understand the severe ramifications if the deal backfires. "As part of the review process by the AFL's Legal, Integrity and Compliance Department, key people involved in the proposed Franklin arrangement - at this stage a non-binding offer of a nine-year deal - will be interviewed in the coming days,"" the league said. Brisbane captain Michael Voss was paid $1 million in the salary cap under the final year of a back-ended deal despite being retired, a situation the league does not want multiplied over three or four years. The 2012 premiers have snared the two biggest names to go on to the open market - Franklin and Tippett - in successive years. The Hawks champion nominated the red and whites as his club of choice yesterday. Franklin could become a Swan as early as Friday, which marks the beginning of the AFL's free agency period. Hawthorn midfielder Brad Sewell says like Geelong when Gary Ablett departed the Hawks will cope if as expected Lance Franklin heads to GWS. Franklin's move, revealed exclusively in The Daily Telegraph, led to a dramatic succession of events yesterday starting with Franklin's manager Liam Pickering nominating Sydney as his client's preferred club. The GWS Giants withdrew their offer for Franklin almost immediately. "It's been a bit of circus all year," Giants CEO David Matthews said. Franklin is a restricted free agent and Hawthorn has the opportunity to match Sydney's offer to Franklin which would force the Swans to negotiate with Hawthorn for a satisfactory compensation. The Hawks have made it clear they are interested in signing Swans ruckman ­Shane Mumford and would need some of the salary cap space created by Franklin's departure to pay for him. If the Hawks don't match the Swans offer their compensation will be a late first round draft pick. The Swans will most likely offer Mumford and a late draft pick in the hope of getting the deal done as quickly as possible.