Essendon has continued its push towards rewarding its players via incentive-based contracts with the club having spoken to a number of players recently about altering existing arrangements. Essendon chief executive Peter Jackson said the club had always preferred players to be on incentive-based contracts. “There has definitely been a move away from fixed contracts and that has been encouraged by both the AFL and the Essendon Football Club board,” Jackson said.

A number of other senior players have already made the change from fixed contracts to partially incentive-based contracts. “These contracts work well for both the club and the player. The club obviously wants to reward excellence and players have the capacity to earn more than they otherwise may have,” Jackson said. “More and more businesses are operating under these conditions and football is following suit – it’s prudent management.”

“The timing of our latest discussions combined with what has happened at Carlton has some people asking if these changes are being made for salary cap reasons. I can tell our supporters that we will be comfortable with our Total Player Payment estimates when they are lodged with the AFL this Friday,” Jackson said.

“The main purpose of the TTP estimates is to ensure clubs that wish to participate in the pre-season draft can do so. We have a full list of 38 players and won’t be taking part in the draft. The timing of these present negotiations is based on all parties wanting to sign off on any variations prior to Christmas and the players can then concentrate on what really matters in the New Year.”