AFL director of coaching Peter Schwab and co. have picked an interesting time to be in the United States.
Things are tense in the NFL with the labour agreement between the league and the players set to expire at the end of this week.
In the likely event that no agreement is reached by then, the NFL will go into virtual shutdown mode. Clubs will lock players out of their facilities, meaning no off-season workouts or team meetings. Free agency and the trade period will also be suspended indefinitely. Only the draft, scheduled for the last weekend in April, will go ahead.
The length of the season and a rookie wage scale are two of the sticking points between the NFL and the players, but the main point of contention - and the one which has kept the two parties busy during mediation sessions for the last few days - is how the billions of dollars of revenue the game generates each year should be split. The players want it to be 50-50, while the league and the owners want it 51-49 in their favour.
What makes this all the more relevant is that a conclusion to the next AFL Collective Bargaining Agreement is nigh. The current agreement expires at the end of the season, and informal discussions between the league and the AFL Players Association have commenced. They’ll heat up significantly once the new TV rights agreement is signed off.
The AFL had hoped to have the TV deal finished by next week, although the understanding now is that a final outcome might be up to six weeks away.
In any event, the early posturing, which seems to have taken place mainly on Twitter, indicates that a 25 per cent share of all revenue earned by the AFL is a figure the players should be aiming for at the next round of negotiations. The figure for the previous five years varies from year to year, but according to the AFLPA’s 2009 annual report, the figure for that year was a touch over 21 per cent.
Increasing that figure to 25 per cent could be a hard call for the players, but if that is their starting point, then negotiations this time around might take longer and could be more complicated.
Andrew Demetriou is a former chief executive of the Players Association, before ascending to the same position with the AFL, Not surprisingly, given that history, there has been a great deal of civility in any discussions between the two bodies. They are in common agreement on more issues than they are not, and the last CBA seemed to be thrashed out in near record time.
However, although the AFL has been a leader in driving player salaries to significant levels, and rapidly, there is a big difference between the AFL model and other world sports. The AFL’s charter requires it to not only support the rights of the players, but also the future of the game - a large proportion of its expenditure is towards the growth of the game, and the AFLPA fully understands this. The key to the negotiations will be to find the fulcrum that is right for the game, the fans, the players and the future.
Of course, some of the push by the players for a larger slice of the pie was motivated by the disclosure late last week that chief executive Andrew Demetriou took home a package worth $2.2 million last year. His salary has more than doubled in the six-plus years since he replaced Wayne Jackson in the hottest seat in Australian sport, and is more than double the highest salary paid to players in the 2010 season. In 2010, the AFL’s total revenue was $334 million.
Based on the record levels of revenue, attendances, membership and participation achieved in 2010 and as a buffer against being recruited by other sporting bodies (it is this point that caused the big acceleration in the CEO’s salary, when Ben Buckley, Demetriou’s deputy, was poached by the FFA in 2006) - Demetriou deserves to be paid handsomely, and reap whatever performance-based bonuses are due.
Whether his salary should be more than double that of the highest-paid player in the competition is another matter entirely.
By way of comparison, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell pocketed $US10 million in 2009. The NFL’s turnover that year was $US9 billion. The highest-paid player was Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who earned $US14 million from his team and the same figure again in endorsements.
CLUB BY CLUB
1. Collingwood: Shane, Shae, Seamus, Shaun…call him what you like, but Shae McNamara, the one-time US college basketballer, went OK on Friday night in the ruck for the Pies.
2. St Kilda: Looks like a side happy to back playing footy once more. Not that they would admit as much.
3. Hawthorn: Twitter went into meltdown once again on Saturday amid reports Buddy limped from the ground just before half-time against North Melbourne.
4. Geelong: Nice shot captured by the Channel Ten cameras of the Chris Scott glare at quarter-time.
5. Fremantle: Freo haven’t shown much so far, but apparently that’s by design.
6. Carlton: Yarran, Murphy and Warnock were among the best on the weekend. But given the quality of the opposition, who’s to know how well they really played?
7. Sydney: Surprisingly harsh verdicts on Sydney’s effort against Collingwood on Friday night in some quarters.
8. Western Bulldogs: Starting to think the Dogs might be good things for another top four finish this year. The ins might be as good as the outs.
9. North Melbourne: The Kangas will never be faulted for their endeavour but if the coach is to be believed, their skills aren’t up to scratch.
10. Adelaide: Wonder when the Victorian clubs will start getting in Rory Sloane’s ear about coming back home.
11. West Coast: John Worsfold claims it’s all about round one for the NAB Cup semi-finalists. But a bit of silverware, even of the pre-season variety, would do wonders for his bid to remain coach after this season.
12. Melbourne: A bit of a reality check for the Demons on Thursday night. Swollen heads?
13. Essendon: Up and about very early in the year, bringing great joy to the red and black masses, led by R.Connolly of The Age. James Hird to his credit, is having none of it, but might be fighting a losing battle in the hype department.
14. Richmond: Tyrone Vickery’s late heroics ensured an enjoyable trip home from Alice Springs.
15. Gold Coast: A home game of sorts this weekend at Southport. Will Gazza play?
16. Port Adelaide: Daniel Motlop was the talk of Alice Springs on Friday night.
17. Brisbane Lions: Can’t play but can sledge. Apparently Jed Adcock called out Bulldog Callan Ward in fine fashion during Saturday’s NAB Challenge clash at Visy Park.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Dane Swan (Collingwood). His return on Friday night of 24 touches, five marks and four goals suggested he was in mid-season touch. About the only thing that didn’t work out for the Pies last year was Swan not winning the Brownlow Medal after winning just about every other media award. Will he play with a chip on his shoulder in 2011?
THE TWITTERATI
“Some of the young guys played very well yesterday. Glad everyone got through injury free!!” - Hawthorn defender Josh Gibson (@joshgibson06) assesses the NAB Challenge win over North.
“Pumped won the auction!!! Very successful day - finally... Great result!” - Melbourne’s Colin Sylvia (@Real_ColSylvia) had a better weekend than his team, apparently.
“Bondi = amazing! You should set up home here @DT_13 and SP_10” - Dane Swan has sampled the Bondi lifestyle, albeit for a weekend, and likes it. No mention of the hour-plus drive from the coast to Blacktown.
GAME TO WATCH
Essendon v St Kilda at Etihad Stadium, Friday night. Remarkably, Essendon defeated St Kilda twice last year, running the Saints off their feet both times, and they drew (admittedly after only a half of football) a fortnight ago in the round-robin. Are they really that evenly matched?
The views expressed by author are not necessarily those of the AFL or the clubs.
You can follow Ashley Browne on twitter at twitter.com/hashbrowne.
