Demetriou tightens the purse strings

The AFL and the AFL Players Association (AFLPA) remain firmly divided over the latest round of payment and conditions claims by AFL players.

While neither side looks like reaching an agreement by the June 30 deadline, both parties have said player strike action is unlikely for the time being. Chief executive Matt Finnis accused the league of misleading the public by linking player claims for a fixed share of AFL revenue to the shutting down of community programs such as Auskick. AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou denied reports that the league, which recently netted a $1.253 billion broadcast rights deal for the next five years, was offering players a pay rise of just 3 per cent per year.

It has always been inferred by the AFL that more than half the TV rights go into Football development programs but clubs may only receive a couple of million dollars each as a one-off payment from the TV rights deal. Demetriou, on a reported salary of around $2.2 million, indicated the AFL has offered a framework which includes an increase in total player and rookie payments, an increase to the retirement fund and the potential creation of a revenue pool that could reward the better players in the competition. According to the AFL the total package offered is substantially more than the percentage quoted by the players. The League hierarchy remained philosophically opposed to the players' claim for a fixed percentage of revenue.

It is understood that while the entire package the AFL is offering equates to a substantial increase, however it will only provide a 3 per cent per season rise to total player payments (TPP), the figure used to cap player salaries. The AFLPA has refused to comment on the size of the actual offer, but says the salary cap has artificially prevented player payments rising in correlation with other AFL spending. AFLPA is seeking a locked-in 25-27 per cent of AFL revenue to ensure that player salaries keep pace with growth in the game. That amount would incorporate provisions such as an improved retirement fund, a better deal for rookie-listed players, as well as a TPP increase of about 10 per cent per year. The players also want a three-year deal, while the AFL wants to lock them in for five years. All this from a not-for-profit organisation called the AFL.