The AFL is set to introduce lifetime free agency next season, with boss Gillon McLachlan describing it as a logical change.
Currently, players can only move as a free agent after spending at least eight years at the one club, regardless of age.
Under the new ruling, the player will become a free agent for life once they qualify.
McLachlan said the details were still to be finalised under the new collective bargaining agreement, with this expected to be the only major change to free agency.
"Once somebody has moved under free agency, I think it's just logical they become a free agent and can move on three or four-year deals if, at 31, they want to move under free agency," McLachlan told 3AW radio on Friday.
"It's very rare that it'd be used but I think it's a logical change."
The AFL Players' Association has been pushing for the free agency rules to be loosened further but appear unlikely to get its way for now.
One proposal was for players to become eligible for free agency after six years at one club, rather than eight.
Another was for players who earned the median AFL wage or lower to be free to change clubs after just four years of service.
Brisbane chief executive Greg Swann earlier in the week warned that such a change would make life harder for Queensland and NSW teams, who already had greater difficulty retaining young players.
But McLachlan indicated there would be no changes to the initial eligibility period.
"Those options were considered ... if there are concessions, they will be minor ones," he said.
Richmond's Dustin Martin and Fremantle's Nat Fyfe could both become restricted free agents at the end of the season - an event likely to spark a bidding war from several Victorian clubs.
Martin has already been linked to massive offers from North Melbourne and Essendon, angering some fans, but McLachlan says the Tigers' star is an exception to the rule.
"I think it's part of football," he said.
"The line is to say 'there's no loyalty anymore' (but) the vast majority of players have already re-signed.
"You look at the Giants - they've got stars like Dylan Shiel, Rory Lobb - all these players have re-signed.
"Dustin just happens to be working through it. Richmond are a very good club, they're very well run and I don't read a lot into the fact that he's taking his time over this."
