The Brownlow Medal, also known as the Charles Brownlow Trophy, is the highest individual award in the Australian Football League (AFL) . It is awarded to the fairest and best player in the AFL during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the three officiating field umpires after each game. The medal was first awarded in 1924 by the Victorian Football League (VFL) and is named in honor of Charles Brownlow, a former Geelong Football Club footballer and club secretary, and VFL president who died in January 1924 after an extended illness.

The Brownlow Medal is widely acknowledged as the highest individual honor in the sport of Australian rules football. The medal count is traditionally held on the Monday night before the Grand Final, and it is considered the social highlight of the AFL calendar with a long tradition of high fashion and dramatic vote-counts. The voting system for the Brownlow Medal is conducted by field umpires, immediately after each home-and-away match, with three votes awarded for the player they believed to have been the best on the ground, two votes for the second-best player, and one vote for the third-best player on the day, in their opinion.

Players who are suspended at some time during the season are ineligible for the award, though their votes are still counted. If two or more players finish tied for first, they are joint-winners. Fourteen players have won the Brownlow Medal on multiple occasions, and four have won it three times: Haydn Bunton Snr, Dick Reynolds, Bob Skilton, and Ian Stewart.