The AFL may have secured a record TV rights deal last year but the league recorded a $23.6 million net loss in 2011.
Figures released by the AFL last week showed CEO Demetriou’s total salary package was $1.8 million – $400,000 less than the $2.2 million he received in 2010. In today’s greedy corporate world, Demetriou is bucking the system and leading by example.
Maybe other banking and airline executives should take his lead and sacrifice some of their bonus payments. The AFL’s expansion plans were largely behind the loss according to AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick, but said the league is aiming to recoup the net loss during the next five years by generating profits to match at least this amount. Other figures released by the AFL include a record attendance in 2011 of 7.488 million.
Increased club membership of 650,373 and an average attendance in 2011 of 34,893 per game which made it the 4th most attended sporting code in the world, inclusive of an AFL record participation of 791,178.
