Essendon player Jobe Watson hands back Brownlow Medal

Essendon officials took responsibility for Watson's right to the medal being called into question and apologised to the 31-year-old and his family.

AFL stars Trent Cotchin and Sam Mitchell were joint Brownlow runners-up in 2012 and may now receive a medal, but both are staying quiet on whether they want it four years after the fact.

The Bombers captain was one of 34 past and current players who served a season-long suspension for the use of banned drugs at the club.

Whether Watson could keep the medal, the highest individual honour in the AFL, had been one of the only unresolved matters associated with the four-year saga.

In a statement Watson issued on Friday afternoon he said he had experienced mixed emotions as he decided to hand back the medal to the AFL.

"The basic principle behind this prestigious award is to honour the best and fairest," he said.

"If there is a question in peoples [sic] minds as to whether the 2012 award is tainted, the fairest and best thing to do is to give it back and honour the history that has gone before me."

Watson said football had always been a part of his life and he had benefited from being part of a community where people strive to be their best.

"It has been incredibly distressing for me to have people question my integrity and infer an intention to act against the spirit of the game, a spirit that is intrinsically a part of who I am."

Along with his Essendon teammates, Watson has always maintained his innocence in the doping scandal and in the statement made clear he still did not agree with the Court for Arbitration in Sport's guilty finding.

But he said he wanted to end speculation about what would be done with the medal, which was due to be decided by the AFL Commission next week.

The commission will decide at that meeting whether 2012's joint runners-up, Tiger Cotchin and then-Hawk Mitchell, will be awarded Brownlow medals of their own.

Neither player has said publicly whether they wanted to receive a medal and when approached on Friday afternoon, a Richmond spokeswoman said Cotchin would wait until the commission made a decision before talking about it.

Mitchell was fronting a media conference with his new club West Coast as the news broke that Watson would hand back the medal.

Eagles coach Adam Simpson said: "We've got potentially the next Brownlow medallist here," but Mitchell would not talk about the matter.

AFL chief executive officer Gillon McLachlan acknowledged Watson's decision was "extremely difficult".

"In Jobe's own words, he is honouring the history of the medal and putting the interests of the game first, and this is an honourable position for him to have taken," McLachlan said.

Essendon Football Club chairman Lindsay Tanner issued a statement saying the club takes responsibility for placing Watson in the difficult position and "unreservedly apologises to him and his family".

Tanner said Watson had remained dignified under pressure over the past four years.

"Jobe is a person of the highest integrity and character and has the total support and admiration of our membership, staff, executive and board," he said.

"The Essendon family has been, and will continue to be, incredibly proud of Jobe Watson."

AFL Players' Association CEO Paul Marsh also released a statement, saying while he was disappointed for Watson but respected his decision.

He said he hoped all the players involved could now move on.

"Despite this outcome, Jobe remains a true champion of our game and a universally respected leader," Marsh said.

Watson had been unsure of whether he would return to football after he was banned early in 2016 and spent time living and working in New York.