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Herald Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- Herald Sun
AFL looks to NBA model for maximum contract length rules
AFL House has dodged a bullet several times now but the rule of percentages say it cannot survive forever. The players who have been medically retired from concussions are either lower profile players like Aiden O'Driscoll or players without vast long-term contracts. Not one player with a million dollar-a-year mega extension has yet been forced from the game with their club caught holding the baby. It is why confirmation from AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon that the league will seek to negotiate maximum length contracts for players in the next CBA is such a welcome and timely move. He told SEN: 'It would be something we would have to talk to the players association about and I think it will be on the table for the next collective bargaining agreement.' It will take plenty of haggling and might require compromises on the way back for a CBA that is still two years away given the current deal lasts to 2027. But it is only a matter of time before an AFL club suffers a catastrophic contract outcome. Collingwood's Nathan Murphy had only just signed a one-year extension and Jeremy McGovern had only one more season on his contract when they were forced from the game through concussion. Both were medically retired through concussion but their clubs had salary cap protection under an AFL ruling that means clubs are able to exempt 90 per cent of a player's wage in the first year post-retirement, then 75 per cent, then 50 per cent. But as clubs rightly bemoan, they are on the hook for every dollar of a player's contract after that period. Melbourne will have to absorb Angus Brayshaw's full contract for 2028 – roughly around $800,000 per year – after those aforementioned protections. But that 2028 contract will be less than five per cent of the club's total salary cap. The doomsday scenario is if a club signs a player to a $2 million a year 10-year deal and loses them very early in that contract to a career-ending injury or concussion. Dillon on Thursday said that the AFL was looking at rival sporting codes, with the NBA having five-year maximum contracts. The AFL has put in place arrangements that mean board members must sign off on any long-term deal, but it is a paper tiger. As Brisbane coach Chris Fagan has said in calling for AFL-mandated limits, you either match rival seven and eight-year deal or you lose your players. 'Concussion can come along, suddenly a career is over and you can be left paying that player for years. I believe the AFL should intervene and put a limit on how long contracts should be,' Fagan said. So the AFL has currently set up clubs to fail with its salary cap exemptions that provide no cover from 2029 onwards for any player who had to retire this year. As an example, Kozzie Pickett is signed to 2034, Hayden Young is signed to 2023 and Sam Taylor, Connor Rozee, Aaron Naughton, Max King, Connor Idun, Luke Davies-Uniacke and Noah Balta are all signed to 2032. Harley Reid is currently asking for a deal from West Coast that would sign him up for the next 11 seasons. As Dillon said if a club was on the hook for that salary without actually having access to a player it would be a huge competitive disadvantage. No club can hope to compete effectively paying 90 per cent of the salary cap while a $2 million player is medically retired. In the NBA supermax contracts and contracts for players with 10+ years service are tied to a percentage of the salary cap and while that isn't on the table, maximum lengths would be. 'It is a really good question and something that … concern is not the right word but it is something we are keeping an eye on,' Dillon said. 'A couple of years back we put in place some guardrails in terms of when clubs sign off on that, they make sure it goes through all the right governance procedures. It is great for players to get that certainty. That is a tick. In some ways it gives clubs some certainty to lock in star players but when you have fully guaranteed contracts and you have a salary cap if a long term deal doesn't go right that is not great for competitive balance. It's the balance we are working through. 'The NBA has not only max term contracts, but also max value contracts. I don't think we would go down the max value contracts but there is something in a max term contract.' AFL clubs were scared off long-term deals after Essendon star Mark Mercuri's five-year deal in 2001 backfired as his form dropped away alarmingly. Then as they crept back up in length the rise of free agency changed the game. Lance Franklin got his nine-year $10m deal, but clubs trying to sign their pre-agents a year out from free agency also had to give monster deals to ward off rival offers. So Naughton is locked in forever because Sydney offered 10 years and $11 million. Reid can secure an 11-year deal because rivals will offer something similar. It is time for an urgent recalibration if the AFL will not protect clubs with longer exemptions for career-ending injuries across the life of a contract. Originally published as AFL to consider maximum contract lengths as clubs continue to dodge million-dollar payouts over concussion
West Australian
24-05-2025
- Health
- West Australian
Aiden O'Driscoll to visit specialists to determine if he can reverse AFL Concussion Panel retirement decision
The West Australian exclusive Aiden O'Driscoll to visit specialists to determine if he can reverse AFL Concussion Panel retirement decision
