A woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted by three high-profile AFL players was paid about $200,000 for her silence, two newspapers reported.

The woman complained to police that she was raped and sexually assaulted by the players in bushland near an Adelaide city nightclub, according to reports in the Herald Sun and The Daily Telegraph newspapers.

She named players from Adelaide's Port Power, a Sydney Swans player and the Brisbane Lions as the alleged attackers.

The confidential payment was made more than a year ago after the woman's lawyers sent the players letters of demand as part of a civil action, the reports said.

The letters said the woman had claimed pain and suffering resulting from the alleged attack.

A legal source told the papers: "Three players took part (in the settlement). All three contributed, and the amount was substantial."

The reports said the alleged attack took place early on August 18, 2000, when the then 23-year-old woman went to the west Adelaide nightclub with friends.

She said she had been passed a drink, which she had not asked for, by one of their players.

She told the papers she believed the drink had been spiked because she later kept lapsing in and out of consciousness.

The woman claimed one player asked her if she wanted to go out for a walk, to which she agreed.

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