Although footy player Bailey Smith has a thriving career in the AFL, should anything go awry, he certainly has enough Instagram followers to make a living off.

Partially due to his ripped abs and iconic blonde mullet, Smith has 367,000 followers on Instagram. Smith has also carved out a career in modelling; he is the first menswear ambassador for Cotton On.

A quick scroll through Smith’s gram will bring up a plethora of photos of the footy player, and in most pics he’s either shirtless or wearing his Western Bulldog’s jersey.

And, it seems as though Bailey’s legions of fans translate to offline too. Spectators have been pictured holding large posters begging the footy player to “answer” their “DM’s”.

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Kelsey Reid
Picture: Kelsey Reid

Bailey was a 2018 draft pick and made his AFL debut for Western Bulldogs in round one, 2019 – he hasn’t missed a game since. Retired Western Bulldogs premiership captain Easton Wood has previously commented on the astounding amount of attention Smith gets from the general public outside of the football field.

“He has been incredible. The reaction to him is just insane. Seeing him first-hand when we were out after GF was just absurd. I have never seen anything like that,” he told the Herald Sun.

“There were just rings of people waiting to get a photo and then rings outside of that talking about the photo with him.

However, those who are hoping to get intimately acquainted with the footballer will be sorely disappointed. The Herald Sun has reported that Smith is dating a woman named Gemma Dawkins.

While Smith himself hasn’t confirmed that he is in a relationship with Dawkins, he has mentioned that he is taken.

“It’s funny. My girlfriend’s dad drives past it every day,” Smith told Code, in regards to huge Cotton On billboards picturing him shirtless.

“It’s hilarious… it’s interesting but I don’t pay too much attention to it. I try not to. I just focus on my footy, because that’s what comes first, and all those other rewards with Cotton On and Monster come after that.”

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