In announcing the new deal, Essendon chairman Graeme McMahon said the club was delighted to have again reached an agreement with Sheedy.
“We have experienced a period of on-field success in recent years and this new contract was more a matter of when rather than if,” McMahon said. “He deserves the full support of this club and I can assure you that is exactly what he has.”
The club and Sheedy have also reached an agreement in principle that will formalise his ongoing marketing and promotion of the club. This agreement will run separately to Sheedy’s coaching contract. It could see him remain with the club at the completion of his coaching career.
Essendon chief executive Peter Jackson and Sheedy’s management first discussed the proposal 12 months ago. The proposed agreement is a joint venture that will see both Essendon Football Club and Sheedy share in the success of it.
“This club recognises that its players and coaches are its major marketing assets and Kevin Sheedy, in particular, has done a wonderful job promoting Essendon Football Club both in its own backyard and nationally,” Jackson said.
“We are working towards putting an arrangement in place that will formalise Kevin’s marketing of the club and allow us to use his image and services to the benefit of Essendon Football Club, its members and its sponsors. He can greatly assist us in our push to become the most recognised sporting club in Australia.
“We believe that this joint arrangement is a first in AFL football. Kevin Sheedy is the biggest name in AFL football and the demands on him are enormous. In past 22 years, the Essendon brand and the Sheedy brand have become inextricably linked. This proposed agreement – through the joint marketing of both brands – would maximise the return for both parties.”
