Ramifications for all Australian Football Leagues

[mcgarnacle]

Ch 10 just reported that the rogue Sonny Bill Williams will challenge the validity of the salary cap..........this could open up a can of worms and no doubt the AFL will be interested in its development.

 

[Father Jack]

Of course the salary cap mightn't be valid, but the AFLPA are aware of its importance and are happy to work within its confines. Luckily for us we don't have to worry about comps in other parts of the world. What is sometimes seen as a weakness is very likely a strength in this case.

 

[RUNVS]

Ch 10 just reported that the rogue Sonny Bill Williams will challenge the validity of the salary cap..........this could open up a can of worms and no doubt the AFL will be interested in its development.

I cant see it affecting the AFL too much, certainly less than it will affect the NRL.

 

[mcgarnacle]

Of course the salary cap mightn't be valid, but the AFLPA are aware of its importance and are happy to work within its confines. Luckily for us we don't have to worry about comps in other parts of the world. What is sometimes seen as a weakness is very likely a strength in this case.

true........Terry Hill challenged the validity of the draft in the then Australian Rugby League competition in the early 90s, and won which led to its demise in rugby league. The effect within the AFL was barely a ripple.

However, the salary cap affects the livelihood of established players, veterans who believe they deserve more...........just look at Fev.

 

[stmookeyj]

I cant see it affecting the AFL too much, certainly less than it will affect the NRL.

I disagree, for if SBW wins his case against the SC, then there's precedent for ANY player from this code to challenge it.

 

[jonesy86]

I doubt it will affect the AFL

Salary caps exist fine in the US sports and in AFL it's not like there are any direct competitors for the players except maybe 3 or 4 who could try out as a punter in the NFL.

 

[RUNVS]

I doubt it will affect the AFL

Salary caps exist fine in the US sports and in AFL it's not like there are any direct competitors for the players except maybe 3 or 4 who could try out as a punter in the NFL.

Exactly. AFL players cant change codes like NRL players can as Rugby League and Rugby Union are quite similar while the only game even remotely similar to Aussie Rules is Gaelic Football and that isnt even a professional football code so they are not going to steal any players away from the AFL.

 

[Van Queen]

Challenge the validity of the salary cap in Australia? What are we under the European jurisdiction?

 

[Rack Watts]

Well said RUN

 

[Gunnar Longshanks]

This sounds like bullshit to me.

What legal grounds does Williams have to challenge the salary cap?

Restraint of trade? That's a massive stretch. There is nothing illegal about the salary cap. The NRL has every right to administer their league in this way. Williams will be pushing shit uphill to find a loophole in that one.

And why would the AFL give a shit? It's not's like they're going to have players walking away from contracts to take up other sports.

 

[Van Queen]

Just stumbled across this PDF....long read, but pretty much addresses this issue.

http://www.sportslawyer.com.au/Text/1202776650838-7194/uploadedFiles/1204522022859-1465.pdf

 

[Hawks1523]

Shows what kind of bloke $BW is.

 

[RUNVS]

Shows what kind of bloke $BW is.

Fevola would do the same thing if he thought he could get away with it.

 

[tandino]

Fevola would do the same thing if he thought he could get away with it.

Or if there was another club in a seperate professional sporting league that would take him.

 

[Tigersman]

There is no where for an afl player to run to in afl like sbw in France.
Any player who tried it would be marked as untouchable by other clubs and any club who accepted the player would find it hard to deal with anyone come trade week.
Although not the same Ben Holland is becoming a bit of an outcast for doing far less.

 

[mcgarnacle]

Sonny Bill's NRL legal bombshell

Roy Masters, Andrew Stevenson and Geesche Jacobsen | July 29, 2008

THE Bulldogs defector Sonny Bill Williams will return fire against the NRL's legal threats by challenging its salary cap, a move that could destroy the financial foundations of Australia's four football codes.

The NRL and Bulldogs launched court action against Williams yesterday for what they say is breach of a "watertight" contract. But Williams's lawyers will argue that the salary cap is an unreasonable restraint of trade - and some legal experts suggest he could succeed.

Williams was stuck in London last night, with visa difficulties delaying his move to France, but before he fled the Bulldogs last Saturday a leading Sydney barrister prepared a legal strategy to challenge the salary cap, which sets a ceiling of the total amount clubs can pay their players.

If Williams, 22, was successful it would represent the worst nightmare for Australia's four football codes, which all rely on caps to restrain player payments.

The Bulldogs star has been summonsed to appear next Tuesday at a hearing of the NRL's and Bulldogs' application for an injunction to prevent Williams playing or training with a rugby club in France - provided lawyers can find and serve papers on him in person before 6pm on Sunday, Sydney time. Williams's lawyers will say the Bulldogs can pay more than his existing $450,000-a-year contract but are prevented from doing so by NRL rules that create salary parity across its 16 clubs. Williams is expected to earn the equivalent of $3 million for two years with the French club Toulon.

Should an Australian court find in favour of the New Zealand international, it would entitle the AFL Players' Association to challenge the Australian rules salary cap, dismantling a club structure that has preserved a competitive balance for 30 years and prevented billionaires such as the Carlton patron Dick Pratt spending whatever they wanted to plunder the talent of rivals.

The Australian Rugby Union also imposes "contracting protocols" which set maximums on what its four Super 14 clubs pay players, an arrangement even more vulnerable because it was reached without the input of its players' association. Soccer's A-League has a salary cap in place, with a single marquee player allowed to earn full market value.

story and continues here

 

[mcgarnacle]

There is no where for an afl player to run to in afl like sbw in France.
Any player who tried it would be marked as untouchable by other clubs and any club who accepted the player would find it hard to deal with anyone come trade week.
Although not the same Ben Holland is becoming a bit of an outcast for doing far less.

it's not about players working in another competition. it's about a player challenging the SC as a restraint of trade.......limiting earning capacity.

 

[RUNVS]

story and continues here

That is very worrying. I would be so pissed off if Australian sport is ruined because of 1 Rugby League player. Forcing Australian sporting competitions to remove the salary cap would kill professional sport as we know it.

 

[hutstar]

Bunch of bollocks. Can't happen. Players not wishing to work under the AFL guidelines can go and play in any other competition, so no restraint of trade. Ultimately if a player can make 5 million a year playing Ovens and Murray they could.
Journo's will talk this up no end, but ultimately it will be a storm in a teacup - like just about everything else reported by the footy media these days.
SBW's angle is simply to say that because his earning capacity was restricted with his current employer, he has the right to take his skills elsewhere and so is not in breach of contract. That has worked elsewhere (most famously in the broking business) but not before a million injunctions and so on.

 

[huntos]

This sounds like bullshit to me.

What legal grounds does Williams have to challenge the salary cap?

Restraint of trade? That's a massive stretch. There is nothing illegal about the salary cap. The NRL has every right to administer their league in this way. Williams will be pushing shit uphill to find a loophole in that one.

And why would the AFL give a shit? It's not's like they're going to have players walking away from contracts to take up other sports.

The salary cap primarily keeps the talent pool evenly distributed thus making it an even competition for all participating ect ect.

But another positive is that it keeps the clubs fiscally responsible with their player payments. You only need to examine what is going wrong with Tasmanian football at the moment to understand why so many clubs are falling over. If West Coast started spending 20 on players it would be impossible for the weaker Victorian clubs to match that ever, the powerhouse clubs from WA and SA would send half the Vic clubs broke trying to compete.

 

[Gunnar Longshanks]

The salary cap primarily keeps the talent pool evenly distributed thus making it an even competition for all participating ect ect.

But another positive is that it keeps the clubs fiscally responsible with their player payments. You only need to examine what is going wrong with Tasmanian football at the moment to understand why so many clubs are falling over. If West Coast started spending 20 on players it would be impossible for the weaker Victorian clubs to match that ever, the powerhouse clubs from WA and SA would send half the Vic clubs broke trying to compete.

Sure, the salary cap is important.

No-one's debating that.

But the idea that Williams' challenge, which is just about getting out of a contract, is somehow going to compromise the very existence of a salary cap in AFL is a stretch.

 

[Van Queen]

Basically, it would become the Premier League or any other major soccer league in the world. West Coast vs Collingwood grand finals year in year out, unless billionaire investors are ready to write some pay checks for the clubs which dont have big revenue streams. Dont get me wrong, I love the way the soccer leagues work without salary caps, and I would still love the AFL if the Kangas were officially placed at the bottom of the heap without a salary cap, but it would be a seismic shift in the way sports are viewed here in Australia.

 

[Gunnar Longshanks]

it's not about players working in another competition. it's about a player challenging the SC as a restraint of trade.......limiting earning capacity.

How is it restraint of trade?

This is bullshit.

Williams won't get anywhere.

Restraint of trade is specifically about freedom to conduct business. Williams has been allowed to do that. This law is designed to prevent companies developing dodgy monopolies. The fact that Williams' employer has a budget set by the NRL surely has nothing to do with restraint of trade.

If there's a contract lawyer on here, I'd be interested to hear an expert opnion.

 

[Gunnar Longshanks]

Basically, it would become the Premier League or any other major soccer league in the world.

Yes, let's all jump to the most extreme conclusion without knowing what we're talking about.

Williams wants to get out his contract.

That doesn't mean the NRL or AFL is going to be banned from imposing a salary cap.

You guys are just too keen for a bombshell. It's making you unreasonable.

You're joining two dots and then concluding that every league in Australia is going to unravel. Totally erroneous.

 

[Van Queen]

How is it restraint of trade?

This is bullshit.

Williams won't get anywhere.

Restraint of trade is specifically about freedom to conduct business. Williams has been allowed to do that. This law is designed to prevent companies developing dodgy monopolies. The fact that his employer has a budget set by the NRL surely has nothing to do with restraint of trade.

If there's a contract lawyer on here, I'd be interested to hear an expert opnion.

You need to study the case of Adamson vs NSWRL. This isnt something to scoff at.....

Heres a start: http://www.phsolicitor.com.au/documents/Restraint-of-Trade-issues-in-elite-Australian-sports.pdf

And clearly you dont understand law in any capacity. Who cares what the NRL or AFL thinks if this unfolds in an unfortunate way.