AFL Surprised Free Agency Not Working

[chris_h_11]

Only way Free Agency is ever equalising in opening it to all players that fall out of contract.

Rebuilding teams have no interest in signing a veteran, they are forced to pay full price for kids that fit the "age profile", while teams at the peak can "top up" to prolong their time there....

 

[Pessimistic]

It's not working well because there aren't enough free agents - 8 years is too long to have a suitable pool of free agents where you can replace FAs lost

Shorter the FA period the better

Good point not often made

 

[sportsmaniac89]

Really?????

And it's taken you how long to realise that.............brains aren't a prerequisite to work at AFLHQ it would appear

 

[Dez!]

Anyone with half a brain knew that bringing in FA wasn't going to work.

When you just bring it in and you have your established good sides and bad sides, where do you think the good players from the bad sides are going to go when they hit FA?

It was always going to strengthen the already strong teams.

 

[Tas]

Something like that yes, though maybe up to $300,000 which means a team can go for a needs based player but they can't go for a superstar. For instance the Swans would have gotten Ted Richards and probably Rhyce Shaw for under that but we wouldn't have been able to get Franklin.

I don't think the AFL should force good teams down, they should be helping the other teams to go up as much as humanly possible.

Hawks aren't a good side because they are cycling superstars through their list, they are just developing recruits better than other clubs. On paper their team is average, but it is an average team is well coached and well developed that can use the ball well.

If Roughy can't play footy again then I don't agree that the Hawks should be penalised because of it, they should be able to get an adequate replacement for him.

We don't want to lower the bar in terms of the standard of finalists, we should be looking at what we can do to get teams outside the 8 up to that standard as quickly as possible.

 

[Pessimistic]

Because both Melbourne and Carlton have since changed their recruiting staff. Now Mahoney and SOS. So far they look to be recruiting better.

Brisbane is more complex. A competition that almost doesn't care at all about them, in an NRL market, leak cash like a sieve and as revealed by Jonathon Brown have adopted a policy of recruiting mature age journeymen/foot soldiers unlikely to take them all the way, simply because they're scared off a solely draft focused strategy because players want out after their 2-3 years at the club. Docherty, Yeo, Polec, Longer, Aish, Crisp (as Beams makeweight), Redden, Luey have all left in the last couple of seasons. Replaced by Bastinac, Christensen, Walker, Jansen, Bell, Beams, West. Only Beams is a talent.

Leppitsch is right, it's boys against men and these 'boys' aren't all likely to want to stick it out, or like Lewis taylor try and strong arm their way to an overs deal. Of all the clubs they are the one's that need a little help, whether it be financial, administration, or playing assistance. Probably a combination actually.

They are better now, but theyve had multiple priority picks, king is suggesting more picks will catapult teams back up the ladder, and should have even more, except these teams have had more, but have literally squandered them

Unlucky kids drafted to clubs who take ten years to realise they need to change and then acually change

 

[Damon_3388]

Nothing to do with team results. Free agency is "not working" because they haven't actually implemented it properly. The system we have is half-arsed and illogical.

If you're out of contract, you should be unattached, free to sign with whatever team you want to go to that has salary cap space to accommodate you. It shouldn't still require a trade to move on. Trades should be for contracted players, or players and draft picks, provided the outgoings and incomings all match within the salary cap and list places available.

It works easily and simply this way in nearly every other professional sport. Why can't it here?

 

[Boxhead_31]

Also look at the fran


I dont think it was ever an argument

But players have moved for more opportunity

But how many of the players who have moved have been FA?

 

[40porpoise]

Can't believe it hasn't already been mentioned.

The only way to make free agency really work is to give clubs the ability to trade players against their will. Its weighted too heavily in favour of the players at the moment

 

[Art Vandelay_]

They are better now, but theyve had multiple priority picks, king is suggesting more picks will catapult teams back up the ladder, and should have even more, except these teams have had more, but have literally squandered them

Unlucky kids drafted to clubs who take ten years to realise they need to change and then acually change

This is the first time you've mentioned King at all. How was I to know that's what you referring to? I thought we were talking FA equalising the comp.

Additional picks for clubs should be the "break in case of emergency" a position for Brisbane we are rapidly approaching imo.

 

[gandaal]

Its simple. If you finish top 8 you cant pick up anyone via free agency.

Problem solved.

 

[master bate]

The problem with free agency is that it's only gifted a small number of good players to the big/good clubs. It needs to be opened up to create more free agents moving, with extra protection for the lower clubs.

Should have more restricted free agency with younger players and more unrestricted free agency with older players, plus longer draft deals for draftees.

What I'd do:
- 3rd and 4th year club options on all draft picks with performance pay
- 5th and 6th franchise year for any 1 player per club at a big wage ie. 750k
- Restricted free agency after 4-7 years for any out of contract player where by the team can match and force a trade
- Unrestricted free agency for any player after 8 years in the system for any team, not 8 for one team.
- Once a player becomes an unrestricted free agent they are always an unrestricted free agent once that contract runs out

These changes would allow rebuilding clubs to lock in their young talent. Some good mature players would be leaving in their prime but the trade off should be that more guys should become free agents again towards the end of their careers. Rebuilding teams might lose a few stars in their mid to late 20's but the trade off would be they could sign guys around 30 years old to cover

 

[quotemokc]

Plain and simple there needs to be more free agents and any player that is delisted from a club automatically becomes a free agent until he is signed again.

Skip all of this agreed upon being drafted nonsense like Essendon having to redraft Mitch Brown even though he had already been on an AFL list. The draft is for young players entering the league for the first time, not for veterans.

 

[Boxhead_31]

Can't believe it hasn't already been mentioned.

The only way to make free agency really work is to give clubs the ability to trade players against their will. Its weighted too heavily in favour of the players at the moment

Come on now, the players only want the parts of the US models that favour them, they think media access is enough to get things more in their favour.

 

[blue harvest]

Its simple. If you finish top 8 you cant pick up anyone via free agency.

Problem solved.

So we couldn't have taken Simpkin?

 

[gandaal]

So we couldn't have taken Simpkin?

Its called the draft. Its not that hard.

 

[Boxhead_31]

NHL looks to have a well developed Free Agency system

Unrestricted NHL Free Agents

• The 27-or-7 Benchmark
  Any player whose contract has expired can declare himself an unrestricted free agent if he is at least 27 years old or has at least seven years of service as an NHL player.
  No Compensation
• Teams losing unrestricted free agents do not receive any compensation.

Restricted Free Agents

Players who are no longer considered "entry-level" but do not qualify as unrestricted free agents become restricted free agents when their contracts expire.

• Qualifying Offers
  The current team must extend a "qualifying offer" to a restricted free agent to retain negotiating rights to that player.
  
  Players who earned less than $660,000 in the previous season must be offered 110 percent of last season's salary. Players making up to $1 million must be offered 105 percent. Players making over $1 million must be offered 100 percent.
  
  If the qualifying offer is not made, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.
  
  If the player rejects a qualifying offer, he remains a restricted free agent.
  
  
• The Offer Sheet is a Contract
  
  An offer sheet is a contract negotiated between an NHL team and a restricted free agenton another team.
  
  The offer sheet includes all the terms of a standard player contract, including length, salary, bonuses, etc.
  
  A player who has signed a qualifying offer or is going to salary arbitration with his original team cannot sign an offer sheet.
• • Accept or Decline
    When an offer sheet is signed, the player’s current (original) team is notified. That team can keep the player under the terms of the offer sheet, or decline and let the player join the new team under those terms.
    
    The original team has seven days to make its decision.
    
    
  • No Turning Back
    Once an offer sheet has been signed by a player, the original team cannot negotiate a new contract under different terms or trade the player’s rights. It’s only options are to accept or decline the offer sheet.
    
    
  • The No-Trade Clause
    If the original team chooses to accept, or “match” the offer sheet, the player cannot be traded for one year.
    
    
  • Compensation
    If the original team declines the offer sheet and loses the player, it receives draft picks from the player’s new team as compensation.
    
    Compensation for losing a restricted free agent is on a sliding scale, depending on how much the new contract is worth. The exact numbers change every year.
    
    The most a team can lose for signing an RFA is four first-round draft picks.
    
    For 2011, a team signing a restricted free agent to a contract worth more than $7,835,219 per season loses four first-round picks to the player's old team.
    
    For a contract worth $6,268,176 or more per year, the acquiring team gives up two first-round picks, one second rounder, and one third.
    
    There are another four levels of compensation, going down to a contract worth up to $1,034,249 per year, for which there is no compensation.

 

[Glenno23]

Free Agency wasn't pushed by the AFL for equalisation, it was pushed by the players.

Good to hear they're thinking of tinkering with the draft. Hopefully they increase the number of picks for the lower clubs.

What difference does it make if you can't select the right talent with those picks or develop them?

Crows have ZERO top 10 draft picks on their list and are currently top 4....

What's the point of giving away more wasted draft picks? Clubs need to be better at development IMO

 

[King Wavo]

Crows have ZERO top 10 draft picks on their list and are currently top 4....

 

[Suma Magic]

Bands 1, 3 and 5: equalisation

Bands 2 and 4: no equalisation

They need to read Policy Design for Dumbies.

 

[TiggerMan22]

Its simple. If you finish top 8 you cant pick up anyone via free agency.

Problem solved.

Top 8s too many. Stops the bottom of the 8 teams from taking their team to top 4.

 

[Glenno23]

??

 

[King Wavo]

??

Brad Crouch?

 

[TiggerMan22]

What difference does it make if you can't select the right talent with those picks or develop them?

Crows have ZERO top 10 draft picks on their list and are currently top 4....

What's the point of giving away more wasted draft picks? Clubs need to be better at development IMO

In reality Brad Crouch is equivalent to a top 10 pick.

 

[Glenno23]

Brad Crouch?

In reality Brad Crouch is equivalent to a top 10 pick.

Technically he wasn't though.....we did not use a top 10 draft pick on him....