The AFL has written to the 18 clubs to seek their feedback on potential changes to the bidding system for both Father/ Son and Club Academy players.

AFL General Counsel Andrew Dillon said the AFL’s Player Movement Advisory Group, comprised of both AFL staff and club football department staff, had last year been reviewing the bidding process for players that is conducted before the start of the annual exchange period in early October. It has been the prevailing view that the current system whereby a club uses its next available pick to match a bid for a nominated player does not meet the goal of ensuring reasonable value is paid to secure a father/son or academy player.

Mr Dillon said the Player Movement Advisory Group’s aim was to develop an improved bidding system that was fairer and more equitable, as clubs selecting a player currently either received far too great an advantage or an insufficient advantage when selecting their nominated player.

“The Draft is in place to ensure equitable access to player talent for all 18 AFL clubs, while acknowledging that we do wish to encourage investment in the development academies and preserve the tradition of allowing players to follow their fathers and play at the same club,” Mr Dillon said.

“A revised bidding system would seek to provide consistent and objective compensation for father/son and academy selections, while continuing to incentivise clubs to select father/son players and invest in their local academies to continue to grow the overall talent pool for the AFL.”

Proposed changes

Assign points to value each individual Draft selection in the NAB AFL Draft

  • Establish a Draft Value Index which assigns a points value for each selection in the National Draft
    • Points are calculated by using statistical analysis of player salary data from 2000-2014 – an indicator of the relative ‘market’ value of players at each draft pick
    • Developed through extensive consultation with the Player Movement Advisory Group
    • Methodology endorsed by Professor Jeff Borland from the University of Melbourne, Department of Economics
  • Points from the Draft Value Index are used to create an objective approach to live updating the draft order after Father/Son and Academy selections (The Draft Value Index is set out in the supporting documents to this memorandum)

 

Update draft order live during the process of the National Draft to select Father/Son and Academy players

  • Existing bidding system retained where Clubs bid for Father /Son or Academy players (‘Bidding Clubs’), and Clubs who have nominated the player (‘Nominating Clubs’) can choose to secure their nominated players
  • However, instead of securing the player with its next available pick, Nominating Clubs must now use one or more subsequent picks, to the value of the points required, in order to secure the player
    • Points required by the Nominating Club are determined by the value of the Bidding Club’s pick
    • The Nominating Club’s next available pick moves back in the Draft order by the amount of points requiredIf a Nominating Club’s next available pick moves to zero points, the pick will move to the end of the Draft order
      • The nominating Club’s next available pick will then have the remaining points subtracted
      • This process continues until the points required reaches zero
    • If a Nominating Club does not have enough points to secure a Father/Son or Academy selection in a given Draft, the points required will carry over to the Club’s first selection the following year
  • Examples of the process are set out in the supporting documents

Apply a discount to ensure the tradition of Father/Son selections is retained and provide the incentive for Clubs to invest in academies

  • Establish a consistent and transparent incentive for Clubs to select Father/Son players and invest in Academy players by providing a discount on points required to select such players
  • Nominating Club requires points equal to the discounted value of the Bidding Club’s pick in order to secure the player
  • This has been a key focus and after extensive consultation, AFL is seeking Club feedback on either the following options for 2015:
    • 25 per cent discount applied to both Father/Son and Academy selections
    • 15 per cent discount applied to Father/Son selections and 25 per cent discount applied to Academy selections (by reason of the differing investment made in players by relevant Clubs)
  • A chart analysing the effect of the proposed discounts is contained in the supporting documents

The AFL is considering introducing this change for this year’s 2015 NAB AFL Draft with the possibility the process could occur live during the Draft. Clubs have been asked to provide their responses by early February.