Andrew Demetriou's last seven months as AFL chief executive earned him a package worth $2 million.
But Demetriou's successor Gillon McLachlan has started from a lower base, with his salary worth about $1.3 million over the first five months in the post.
The league's latest financial figures show the total paid to its two chief executives was $500,000 less than the year before.
Between them, Demetriou and McLachlan were paid a combined $3.3 million over 12 months in the AFL chief executive role.
Demetriou earned $3.8 million in 2013 and he said a year ago that $2 million of the total was a long-service bonus running over three years.
McLachlan succeeded Demetriou on June 5 last year.
The salary schedule for the AFL executive was $6.9 million, which the league said was $200,000 down on the previous year.
AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said it had been a challenging year, but the league's results were sound.
After grants and distributions, the AFL's net profit decreased by $4 million in 2014 to $12.5 million.
The league reported a $12 million revenue increase to $458 million, while expenditure also went up by $6 million to $142 million.
AFL distributions to clubs were $216 million, up by $7 million.
