- Jun 29, 2013
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No professional sport comp runs with all teams breaking even, certainly not the AFL, now or ever.
The reality is, if the weakest clubs financially were cut from the comp, and finances concentrated in the remaining 'profitable' clubs, then in a few years, some of those remaining clubs would be unprofitable. It's the nature of the industry, competition drives expenses upwards to the point the bottom clubs struggle.
The AFL needs those clubs despite their marginal financial state, and will support them indefinitely while it has the financial capacity to do so.
As for clubs, so for leagues. The AFL needs healthy lower and elite junior leagues. Most of them would struggle to survive in their current state without AFL support. Even the WAFL needs the money funneled to it from WC and Freo via the WAFC.
In this day and age the AFL has decided it needs a healthy high profile national women's comp, you may disagree, but it's their strategic direction, and their money.
I would also point out, these deals were negotiated by the AFLPA, probably the organisation with the greatest stake in a financially secure AFL. They will funnel money to it in proportion to their need for a high profile financially attractive women's comp, and their capacity to absorb the cost . The more money it brings in, the more they can pay within that framework, but it doesn't need to be profitable. I would bet they have budgeted for losses out as far as they have projected.
The AFL, and the AFLPA want the female players paid as much as possible, within the confines of the overall AFL budget. They want footy to be the sport of choice for young women, and seeing players getting full time careers in footy goes a long way to doing that.
Dana Hooker at $160 K (still don't believe this btw) is still something the Eagles can well afford as a marketing campaign.
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The eagles may be able to afford it but that is not my point.
People should be paid in relation to the money they bring back into the coffers AND ability and as I’ve said there is no way any AFLW player is worth that at present.
Also the eagles may be able to but o doubt the dogs could so how does this equate to an even comp? The thing is becoming more and more a lopsided experiment every year. I’d be ropable if I heard the bulldogs were over paying AFLW players when we can’t even pay full coaching cap in the mens