The Brownlow Medal (formally the Charles Brownlow Trophy) is an individual award given to the player judged fairest and best in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the regular season. Determined by votes cast by the officiating umpires after each game, it is considered the highest honour for individual players in the AFL.[1] [2]
The medal has been awarded every year since 1924, with the exception of an intermission from 1942–1945 due to World War II. As of 2023, the Brownlow Medal has been awarded 110 times to 90 different players in 95 medal counts.
| Year | Player | Team | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 # | 7 ⁕ | |||
| 1925 § | 9 ⁕ | |||
| 1926 ⁑ | (1/2) | 9 ⁕ | ||
| 1927 ⁑ | 7 ⁕ | |||
| 1928 ⁑ | (2/2) | 8 ⁕ | ||
| 1929 # | 6 ⁕ | |||
| 1930 ⁑ | 4 ⁕ | |||
| 4 ⁕ | ||||
| 4 ⁕ | ||||
| 1931 ⁑ | (1/3) | 26 † | ||
| 1932 ⁑ | (2/3) | 23 † | ||
| 1933 ⁑ | 18 † | |||
| 1934 ⁑ | (1/3) | 19 † | ||
| 1935 ⁑ | (3/3) | 24 † | ||
| 1936 ⁑ | 26 † | |||
| 1937 ⁑ | (2/3) | 27 † | ||
| 1938 ⁑ | (3/3) | 18 † | ||
| 1939 ⁑ | 23 † | |||
| 1940 ⁑ | 32 † | |||
| 32 † | ||||
| 1941 ⁑ | 23 † | |||
| 1942 | No medal awarded due to World War II | |||
| 1943 | ||||
| 1944 | ||||
| 1945 | ||||
| 1946 ■ | 20 † | |||
| 1947 ■ | 20 † | |||
| 1948 ■ | 24 † | |||
| 1949 ■ | 23 † | |||
| 23 † | ||||
| 1950 ⁑ | 21 † | |||
| 1951 ⁑ | 23 † | |||
| 1952 ⁑ | (1/2) | 21 † | ||
| (1/2) | 21 † | |||
| 1953 ⁑ | (2/2) | 26 † | ||
| 1954 ⁑ | (2/2) | 29 † | ||
| 1955 ⁑ | 21 † | |||
| 1956 ⁑ | 22 † | |||
| 1957 ⁑ | 24 † | |||
| 1958 ⁑ | 20 † | |||
| 1959 ⁑ | 20 † | |||
| (1/3) | 20 † | |||
| 1960 ⁑ | 20 † | |||
| 1961 ⁑ | 21 † | |||
| 1962 ⁑ | 28 † | |||
| 1963 ⁑ | (2/3) | 20 † | ||
| 1964 ⁑ | 27 † | |||
| 1965 ⁑ | 20 † | |||
| (1/3) | 20 † | |||
| 1966 ⁑ | (2/3) | 21 † | ||
| 1967 ⁑ | 24 † | |||
| 1968 ◆ | (3/3) | 24 † | ||
| 1969 ◆ | 19 † | |||
| 1970 ⁂ | 25 † | |||
| 1971 ⁂ | (3/3) | 21 † | ||
| 1972 ⁂ | 25 † | |||
| 1973 ⁂ | (1/2) | 27 † | ||
| 1974 ⁂ | (2/2) | 27 † | ||
| 1975 ⁂ | 20 † | |||
| 1976 ⁂ | 48 ‡ | |||
| 1977 ⁂ | 59 ‡ | |||
| 1978 ⁂ | 22 † | |||
| 1979 ⁂ | (1/2) | 22 † | ||
| 1980 ⁂ | 23 † | |||
| 1981 ⁂ | 22 † | |||
| 22 † | ||||
| 1982 ⁂ | 23 † | |||
| 1983 ⁂ | 24 † | |||
| 1984 ⁂ | (2/2) | 24 † | ||
| 1985 ⁂ | 22 † | |||
| 1986 ⁂ | 17 † | |||
| (1/2) | 17 † | |||
| 1987 ⁂ | 20 † | |||
| 20 † | ||||
| 1988 ⁂ | 20 † | |||
| 1989 ⁂ | 22 † | |||
| 1990 ⁂ | 18 † | |||
| 1991 ⁂ | 25 † | |||
| 1992 ⁂ | 20 † | |||
| 1993 ◆ | 18 † | |||
| 1994 ⁂ | (2/2) | 30 † | ||
| 1995 ⁂ | 21 † | |||
| 1996 ⁂ | 21 † | |||
| 21 † | ||||
| 1997 ⁂ | (1/2) | 26 † | ||
| 1998 ⁂ | (2/2) | 32 † | ||
| 1999 ⁂ | 28 † | |||
| 2000 ⁂ | 24 † | |||
| 2001 ⁂ | 23 † | |||
| 2002 ⁂ | 25 † | |||
| 2003 ⁂ | 22 † | |||
| 22 † | ||||
| (1/2) | 22 † | |||
| 2004 ⁂ | (1/2) | 30 † | ||
| 2005 ⁂ | 20 † | |||
| 2006 ⁂ | (2/2) | 26 † | ||
| 2007 ⁂ | 29 † | |||
| 2008 ⁂ | 24 † | |||
| 2009 ⁂ | (1/2) | 30 † | ||
| 2010 ⁂ | (2/2) | 30 † | ||
| 2011 ⁂ | 34 † | |||
| 2012 ⁂ | 26 † | |||
| 26 † | ||||
| 2013 ⁂ | (2/2) | 28 † | ||
| 2014 ⁂ | 26 † | |||
| 2015 ⁂ | (1/2) | 31 † | ||
| 2016 ⁂ | 35 † | |||
| 2017 ⁂ | 36 † | |||
| 2018 ⁂ | 28 † | |||
| 2019 ⁂ | (2/2) | 33 † | ||
| 2020 § | (1/2) | 31 † | ||
| 2021 ⁂ | 36 † | |||
| 2022 ⁂ | Carlton | 29 † | ||
| 2023 ● | (2/2) | 31 † | ||
As a mark of respect to soldiers fighting overseas in World War II, the medal was not awarded during 1942–1945.
A player guilty of an offence deemed worthy of a suspension by the AFL's disciplinary tribunal for serious on-field offences is ineligible to win the Brownlow Medal. Suspended players have tallied the highest number of votes for the award on three occasions. In the third of those cases, Jobe Watson, who won in 2012, was later found guilty of breaching WADA's anti-doping code in the 2012 season, and was retrospectively ruled ineligible by the AFL Commission in November 2016.[3]
| Player | Team | Year | Votes | Outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 21 | Suspended; would have been joint winner with Hird and Voss. | |||
| 1997 | 27 | Suspended; would have won outright, beating Harvey by one vote. | |||
| 2012 | 30 | Awarded the medal in 2012, beating Mitchell and Cotchin by four votes. In 2016 he was retrospectively ruled ineligible because of his involvement in the Essendon supplements saga. |
The following players have won the Brownlow Medal multiple times.
| Medals | Player | Team | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1931, 1932, 1935 | ||
| 1934, 1937, 1938 | |||
| 1959, 1963, 1968 | |||
| Ian Stewart | 1965, 1966, 1971 | ||
| 2 | 1926, 1928 | ||
| 1952, 1953 | |||
| 1952, 1954 | |||
| 1973, 1974 | |||
| 1979, 1984 | |||
| 1986, 1994 | |||
| 1997, 1998 | |||
| 2003, 2006 | |||
| 2004, 2010 | |||
| Geelong / Gold Coast | 2009, 2013 | ||
| 2015, 2019 | |||
| 2020, 2023 |
Since 1924, the voting system for the Brownlow has changed three times.
| 1924–1930 | One vote per game |
| 1931–1975, 1978–present | Six votes per game: 3 votes, 2 votes, and 1 vote |
| 1976–1977 | Twelve votes per game: 3 votes, 2 votes, and 1 vote from each of the two field umpires |
From 1930 to 1980, a countback system was used to determine the winner in the event of a tie. In 1930, Judkins was awarded the medal as he had played in the fewest games.
From 1931 to 1980, with the introduction of 3–2–1 voting, the winner was the player with the most three-vote games.[2] In 1980, the countback system was removed, and in the event of a tie, players have been considered joint winners.[2] In 1989, the then VFL awarded retrospective medals to all players who had tied but lost on countback prior to 1980.[4]
| South Melbourne/Sydney | 14 | 1940, 1949, 1955, 1959, 1963, 1968,1970, 1977, 1981, 1986, 1988, 1995 | |
| Footscray/Western Bulldogs | 10 | 1930, 1941, 1956, 1960, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1992, 2008 | |
| St Kilda | 10 | ||
| Collingwood | 9 | ||
| Fitzroy | 8 | 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 19501969, 1981 | |
| Essendon | 8 | 1934, 1937, 1938, 1952, 1953, 19761993, 1996 | |
| Richmond | 7 | 1930, 1948, 1952, 1954, 1971, 2012,2017 | |
| Melbourne | 7 | 1926, 1928, 1946, 1982, 1984, 1991, 2000 | |
| Geelong | 7 | 1924, 1951, 1962, 1989, 2007, 2009,2016 | |
| Hawthorn | 6 | 1949, 1986, 1987, 1999, 2012, 2018 | |
| Carlton | 6 | 1947, 1961, 1964, 1994, 2010, 2022 | |
| North Melbourne | 5 | 1965, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1983 | |
| Brisbane Lions | 4 | 2001, 2002, 2020, 2023 | |
| West Coast | 3 | 2004, 2005, 2014 | |
| Fremantle | 2 | 2015, 2019 | |
| Gold Coast | 1 | 2013 | |
| Brisbane Bears | 1 | 1996 | |
| Adelaide | 1 | 2003 | |
| Port Adelaide | 1 | 2021 | |
| GWS | 0 |