A contract is a contract, and the days he is rumoured to have requested to live in Qld, he still is an employee of the footy club, and gets paid. He still will be training and playing, so why wouldn't he be paid for the contract he signed?
You're correct a contract is a contract, but 2-3 days away from the club is a MAJOR variation to the contract.
Such a variation would void a contract normally, and/or at least be the subject of re-negotiation, hence my question on why AFLPA/AFL would not allow renegotiation.