In an era of free agency, contracts turning to confetti during AFL trade periods and powerful (almost celebrity) player managers appearing to dictate where stars will and will not go, Zak Butters is standing as a rare exception to a deepening theme.

Some might even suggest the 21-year-old Port Adelaide midfielder is allowing the romantics in Australian football to believe that quaint theme of "loyalty" still exists in a professional era.

Butters on Saturday completed Port Adelaide's round of contract re-signings that locked away nine players and leaves, for now, just 14 of the club's squad without deals beyond October 31.

Butters, already on contract until the end of the season, has added two more seasons to his stay at Alberton where he arrived as draft pick No. 12 in the 2018 national draft.

Remarkably in this era of professional sport - or perhaps not considering Port Adelaide's reputation for keeping players - Butters ignored two themes playing to his potential advantage. 

There was the opportunity to wait on a new collective bargaining deal between the league and the players' union - a framework of guidelines that goes well past simply deciding how much money is poured into the salary cap for the players to collect. There are also those lucrative commercial deals that are starting to open up for Butters while his star rises. As one rival AFL coach says of Butters: "He is blue chip."

Why not wait?

"All parties (club, player and manager wanted to act now)," Butters answered on Saturday. "I am pretty happy to stay around. The club reached out and I was happy (to sign)."

There also was a "godfather" offer from a rival club prepared to talk with Butters' manager of an eight-year deal.

"I told my manager I was not going to listen to any (rival) offers," Butters said on Tuesday. "I had said to him for some time I was happy to stay at Port Adelaide. That is why I was happy to sign (the contract extension) early in the season and get it over and done with and look forward to playing some good footy now.

"I was adamant (in wanting to stay at Port Adelaide)."

So Butters has worked against the trend of professional sport - just as he has defied the thought that a player with his small frame (of 181 centimetres and 75 kilogram) should be more prudent now that he is to work against big-bodied midfielders in confined space.

But who is going to tell this to such to a fearless ball-winner, more so when he has flattened 203-centimetre, 102-kilogram team-mate, ruckman Sam Hayes at training at Alberton?

"He is the last man you want to run into at training," says Port Adelaide vice-captain and strong-bodied midfielder Ollie Wines.

"About a month ago, in pre-season, he dropped Sammy Hayes, the big ruckman, with a bump at a contest. For some reason, he has the hardest body you will find. He always jumps up (after contact).

"He does put himself in harm's way at times; we do need to slow him down. But that is just who he is. He loves a contest. He will throw his body around."

But there is more than just Butters' insatiable appetite for the contest that will again define Port Adelaide this season, starting with the test against Brisbane at the Gabba on Saturday night.

"It is not just the way Zak goes to win the ball," said Wines. "It also is the way he uses the ball. We like to get the ball to Zak who is similar to (wingman) Dan Houston for using the ball well to set us up.

"Zak's ability to move his feet at stoppage and be so agile to win the ball - when he does not have the big frame to throw his body around - means he will use that agility (to achieve an advantage). He is similar to Robbie Gray in how he uses the ball; they are incredible impact players. 

"To see Zak's growth in the past 18 months - even when overcoming his ankle injury last year - to be now up and running points to him having a big year."

And his contract is now extended from October 31, 2023 to October 31, 2025 when Butters will not be short of clubs testing him again with offers others would find too easy to accept.