News

AFL and players reach pay deal

Thursday, 15 December 2011
Staff writers for essendonfc.com.au
Page 1 of 1

The AFL has stuck to its guns on its $1.144 billion, five-year pay offer to players, but has agreed to a review after three years.

After 18 months of negotiations, the League and the AFLPA finally signed off on a new collective bargaining agreement on Thursday.

Under the new agreement, the average player's wage will rise to more than $300,000 by 2016.

Rookies, the AFL's lowest-paid players with a minimum wage of just $35,000 in 2011, are big winners in the deal.

They'll receive a pay rise of 17 per cent next year, 19 per cent the year following and nine per cent in 2014, taking their yearly earnings to almost $54,000 plus match payments.

The League has also agreed to a $90 million retirement scheme, which will see players receive around $20,000 per year during life after football.

The review of terms will take place during 2014, and will apply to the last two years of the deal.

If an agreement can't be reached during that review, The AFL will make a penalty payment to the AFLPA of between $3 million and $10 million, depending on its financial performance over the next three years.

Other key components of the new CBA are:

Star players who promote the game and their clubs will receive extra payments.
Clubs will be required to pay a minimum 95 per cent of the salary cap, up from the current 92.5 per cent.
All clubs must employ a full-time player development manager, and schedule four hours per week for players' professional and personal development activities.
Clubs must schedule a fixed day off for players between Monday and Friday each week, with four exceptions for scheduling.
Players will be entitled to a minimum six-week uninterrupted block of annual leave after the end of each season.
Expanded past player hardship fund of $250,000 per year.
Abolishment of the veterans' list, with primary lists extended from 38 to 40.
Players assign the non-exclusive right to use their image on the AFL-Telstra network.

AFLPA president Luke Power and CEO Matt Finnis, and AFL executives Andrew Demetriou and Adrian Anderson made the announcement in Lorne, where the players' union is holding its annual directors and delegates conference.

Demetriou said the deal rewarded the players, who he described as the "lifeblood" of the sport, but also enabled the continued growth of the game.

"In announcing this collective bargaining agreement, the AFL now has the ability to further build our position as the leading sport in this country," he said.

Finnis said the players could be proud of what they'd achieved.

"There's real benefits here, which we think will be a wonderful legacy for the game and also reflect the significant contribution that the players make to the game's success," he said.

"It's a total career package, which looks after the youngest players coming into the game, through to players many years after they've left.

"This CBA ensures that AFL is the career choice for athletes in Australia and we thank our members for their unity and support during this process."

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Next year will have to see a huge cleanout of under performing players, we have at least 10 who will never make premiership standard and can't afford to pay them $300K+, too many were paid for nothing this year & a couple should have repaid the clubs generousity and retired, no longer will players be able to be carried with long term injuries, the AFLPA expects players to be paid well over what they are worth, getting very greedy

- Mark McLachlan (posted 15/12/2011 7:43:49 PM)

Good news for our promising new rookies, and I like the extension of the primary lists.

- Gordon Moss snr (posted 15/12/2011 8:10:00 PM)

Theres nothing like accidently opening the wrong mail to find my surprise membership. So happy now. ARE YOU ONE. Go bombers 2012

- DANIEL BISHOP (posted 16/12/2011 8:33:54 AM)

Without the players there is no game. Good on them they deserve financial support, it can be such a short career and a long time suffering over injuries received. The players on the field represent what happens behind the scenes. They are the face of football & the reason some people come to the game (following the player not the club). I would rather put my money to a football player than a politician. Well done AFLPA. Gail T

- Gail Taylor (posted 17/12/2011 9:40:11 AM)

Spot on Gail. When one considers that a player's career may not last longer than five years, this sum of 300,000 does not equate to very much. Add to this the potential for death or disablement purely by running onto the field in this often brutal sport, and one can see the importance of the improvements sought by the AFLPA. Personally, I think the pension and rookie wages are still too low when one considers what these men give to the game. Angie

- Angeline Baron (posted 19/12/2011 2:09:50 AM)