His boss Nathan Buckley did not offer him a "ridiculous" pay rise. Dawes was head hunted by Neeld supposedly with a pay offer of around $500-600k. Probably in the top 2 or 3 paid players on our list. He would've known the expectation to perform for that amount.
Yes, we had to pay someone to get near the SC. Yes, he's a mentor to the young guys. Yes, he had old man's calf and an assortment of other injuries. Yes, he gives his all when he's on the park. Regardless of these, it would be fair to say his 4 yrs have been underwhelming.
And comparing a sportsman's pay with the average Joe is not apples and apples.