Is it time to list player's salaries??

[Matchu]

Depends on what you're trying to achieve. It would certainly add more interest to the off season/free agency period. We would get a very good idea of who might be in the running for certain players and the media would be able to report on it more extensively. I made this salary table for the Gold Coast at the end of last year and I think having official salaries would make it much more interesting:

It just comes down to what the AFL are trying to achieve and I think they are definitely trying to promote more player movement at the end of the season so perhaps publishing player salaries would help. Certainly seems to work in America.

 

[PTizzle]

I like it in the NBA and would be very interested personally in seeing what certain players earn (to see how clubs value players etc) but I can't see any reason to force players to disclose their wages. We don't have gigantic salary caps and luxury taxes and Bird rights and other things that help clubs convey to fans etc what they're doing with player salaries - I don't see the point of having AFL players sacrifice their privacy at this stage.

You can guess at the moment fairly easy what people's rough wage range would be in the AFL. That's enough.

Third-party payments outside the cap should be fair game in the name of transparency and club accountability though I reckon.


The flood of articles/threads/discussion about "does player x earn too much?" and "the most underpaid players in the AFL" would be very tiresome too.

 

[Sydney Bloods]

I really see no benefit.

Listing salaries won't stop salary cap cheating - teams just won't list that part.

misconception the players know how much they are being paid, if the salary isn't being reported correctly this means pressure is put on the player to come clean or risk getting fined as well as the club.

whack a 50K fine on failing to report discrepancies and it would solve it.

that said i'm against it, footy should be about the sport not how much someones earning.

 

[Goggin Our Best]

Ithink it should be made public - considering they beg/plead for you to renew your membership

Brad Scott said a couple of years back that all contracts should be made public

Ithink the 3rd party contracts ( which are basically borderline) should be made public - like when Ablett was at Geelong - he had that highly questionable 3rd party contract - with the club presidents company - if you could see - both what he was earning officially - and what he got through an " approved" 3rd party contract - supporters could work out/decide - whether it was just a rort

The other thing i would like made public - is a breakdown per club - of how grand final tickets - they sell as $1000 plus packages - they will never make that public - football clubs are a law to themselves

 

[TassieEagle]

Absolutely not! What any person makes should be private knowledge unless they choose to divulge otherwise.

 

[Taylor]

I'd like nameless pure stats to graph the income groups so I could show that 80% of players earn 20% of the salary cap.

Just to stop all the talk of guys being offered $350,000 and it being too little when my guess is it's quite large. The alternative is that five guys at a club are on big bucks and everyone else is on $150,000 a year.

 

[Taylor]

misconception the players know how much they are being paid, if the salary isn't being reported correctly this means pressure is put on the player to come clean or risk getting fined as well as the club.

whack a 50K fine on failing to report discrepancies and it would solve it.

that said i'm against it, footy should be about the sport not how much someones earning.

Because current sanctions like deregistration and banning clubs from the draft have worked wonders to stop tampering?

The afl already has a copy of every contract officially lodged.

 

[Sydney Bloods]

Because current sanctions like deregistration and banning clubs from the draft have worked wonders to stop tampering?

The afl already has a copy of every contract officially lodged.

yes but as always the player can claim "they weren't aware" if it's there in black and white it's a bit hard suggest the player didn't know his earnings weren't above board, there's no "i leave pay stuff up to the manager, i had no idea they were paying me under the table"

if a player knows he's earning 650K and the report comes out showing he's supposedly earning 600K he becomes aware there's something not above board. there's no wiggle room.

 

[Taylor]

yes but as always the player can claim "they weren't aware" if it's there in black and white it's a bit hard suggest the player didn't know his earnings weren't above board, there's no "i leave pay stuff up to the manager, i had no idea they were paying me under the table"

if a player knows he's earning 650K and the report comes out showing he's supposedly earning 600K he becomes aware there's something not above board. there's no wiggle room.

If the player doesn't know how the $50,000 boat showed up in his driveway I'll be asking the doctor to rule him out for three months with a brain injury.

I'm a believer that if the penalties are high enough there isn't much need for such tight regulation.

I only want the data to see what the actual salary conditions are for players, the only identifying stat would be the number of games played this year. Then I could work out the average price of a best twenty two player compared to a depth player and I expect it to be about 400% different.

The media like to throw numbers above $500,000 like it's not 5% of the salary cap, as if anyone playing regular games is on at least $400,000 but that would mean there is $1,000,000 to share between the other 18 guys on a 40 man list.

I think the media putting numbers like $800,000 for Fyfe might be a touch overstating the numbers.

 

[Sydney Bloods]

If the player doesn't know how the $50,000 boat showed up in his driveway I'll be asking the doctor to rule him out for three months with a brain injury.

I'm a believer that if the penalties are high enough there isn't much need for such tight regulation.

I only want the data to see what the actual salary conditions are for players, the only identifying stat would be the number of games played this year. Then I could work out the average price of a best twenty two player compared to a depth player and I expect it to be about 400% different.

The media like to throw numbers above $500,000 like it's not 5% of the salary cap, as if anyone playing regular games is on at least $400,000 but that would mean there is $1,000,000 to share between the other 18 guys on a 40 man list.

I think the media putting numbers like $800,000 for Fyfe might be a touch overstating the numbers.

as much as i hate to point it out Kochie actually showed the sports media completely make up figures and salary's a few years back, the "inside" info usually comes from player managers who deliberately inflate figures and leak these fake figures in a bid to get a better deal for there players.

apparently GWS never even got to the stage of offering Reidwoldt $$$ before they went cold on him and yet according to the media there was a million dollar deal on the table. they just make shit up.

interestingly though according to the AFL's figures there's 5 players on currently earning a million or more per season. as much as i don't want player salaries revealed i'd like to know who they are.

i mean you've got ablett, Franklin, Scully, possibly Tippett (although i doubt it) so who else is in the 7 figure bracket?

 

[BobaFett]

Wouldn't mind it for players over 600k. Players on these salaries should be held accountable for their performance, and if they are spudding it up like a thomas or a scully, it would add a bit to the discussion.

Most players these days are between 300-500k, with the stars getting 600k plus, and the young players getting less than 200k. The only interesting part would be to see who is on the big bucks

 

[Bloody Hell]

Too much narrow thinking in the OP.

Should be a Brownlowesque event that every listed player must attend. The media can speculate on who will be were based on the shoes and suit worn by the players and the work done on the WAG.

Club by club, in draft order, the players take the stage and from lowest to highest - the biggest spud of a rookie, to the biggest superstar - the players approach the microphone and state their wage for the year.

The oohs and gasps of such a spectacle would have me riveted every year.

 

[Costanza_]

Bay 13 would be nothing but "LOL Player X gets $30k per possession" etc

 

[legend166]

The only people who benefit from the whole "we must not ever talk about salaries" mantra that seems so prevalent in Australian society are the companies. It allows them to lowball people because they don't actually know what everyone else around them is getting.

 

[Matchu]

The only people who benefit from the whole "we must not ever talk about salaries" mantra that seems so prevalent in Australian society are the companies. It allows them to lowball people because they don't actually know what everyone else around them is getting.

You make a decent point. Perhaps that would be a reason for the AFLPA to push for salaries to be published? Unlikely but at least you would avoid the lowball situation as a player.

 

[Jumparoo]

The only people who benefit from the whole "we must not ever talk about salaries" mantra that seems so prevalent in Australian society are the companies. It allows them to lowball people because they don't actually know what everyone else around them is getting.

Exactly, and has been pointed out there is no innate right to privacy over your salary as the salary of many jobs is public. I am sure the head of Westpac doesn't want her salary published but that is the price she pays for her role and to maintain confidence in the system.

Ultimately, it is a good idea for the league (not the clubs maybe) as it generates more interest and debate which ultimately increases the value of the league as a whole.

 

[Julie_L]

No. An AFL club is a company just like any other company. When all companies are required to disclose all salaries for all staff then it would make sense. Otherwise it's just plain silly.

 

[Hawkinspired]

If the player doesn't know how the $50,000 boat showed up in his driveway I'll be asking the doctor to rule him out for three months with a brain injury.

I'm a believer that if the penalties are high enough there isn't much need for such tight regulation.

I only want the data to see what the actual salary conditions are for players, the only identifying stat would be the number of games played this year. Then I could work out the average price of a best twenty two player compared to a depth player and I expect it to be about 400% different.

The media like to throw numbers above $500,000 like it's not 5% of the salary cap, as if anyone playing regular games is on at least $400,000 but that would mean there is $1,000,000 to share between the other 18 guys on a 40 man list.

I think the media putting numbers like $800,000 for Fyfe might be a touch overstating the numbers.

Yes the media always overstate salaries. Franklin wasn't even our highest paid player when he left. Guys like Robbo see the rich list that comes out once a year, (mind you it's only calculated year to year rather than the average over the term of contract) and cross examines with Mike's top 50 to gauge his results.

I encourage you all to dummy up the value of your own list. Once you start giving out more than $600k per player it becomes very difficult to manage.

Whilst I'm curious about salaries the only thing that needs to be revealed in the top up money through sponsorship or ambassador schemes. I'm assuming that's all outside of the salary cap then within the salary cap it still gets exploited.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/swans-paid-175m-more-than-havenots-20130315-2g69y.html

 

[Superstar swan]

No. An AFL club is a company just like any other company. When all companies are required to disclose all salaries for all staff then it would make sense. Otherwise it's just plain silly.

What other companies a rebound australia work to a salary cap or pay employees in 3rd party agreements??

Wen their is a strict limit on how much clubs can spend, it needs to be more transparent

 

[the dog's kennel]

Certainly I'd like to list the salaries of those who take free agency.

If they want to make it all about cash, then fine. Let's make it all about cash. And then people can hold those players to account just like they held their old clubs to account.

 

[HR Roughnstuf]

I've always wondered why they don't do this.
Would stop salary cap cheating imo as no one can claim they were in the dark
Would also give us more of a chance to criticise how overpaid some players are!

And question why Jack and Goodes only have $100,000 of salary under the cap.

 

[Stratton_Gun]

And question why Jack and Goodes only have $100,000 of salary under the cap.

Wouldn't surprise me tbh

 

[HODGEYROAD]

And question why Jack and Goodes only have $100,000 of salary under the cap.

Wouldn't surprise me tbh

They are great Ambassador's for NSW footy fellas....

 

[HODGEYROAD]

In regards to the question Yes everyone salary should be made public like the NBA

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

It would only depress me more to know the player who spent all evening dropping marks and kicking to opposition players was earning more in a year than a heart surgeon.