TOTAL player payments to AFL players will go up by seven per cent in 2012, the League confirmed on Monday afternoon.
 
As the 18 clubs got together at Etihad Stadium on Monday for the start of trade week, they learned that the AFL Commission had approved a figure a Total Player Payments (TPP) figure of $8.78 million a club for 2012.
 
The 2011 figure was $8.21 million.
 
The figure was reached by the League in consultation with the AFL Players' Association. The two bodies remain in the midst of lengthy and complicated negotiations for the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, but were able to work together to finalise the salary figures for next season.
 
THE AFL tabled a five-year, $1.144 billion offer to the players on August 31, which so far the players have rejected.
 
AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said the announcement would hopefully lead to further developments on the CBA.

"We're keen to keep moving this as quick as we can. It is very important today that we got this step done of organising what the salary cap is next year," Anderson said on Monday.

"And we've said to (AFLPA CEO) Matt (Finnis) and his guys that we're keen to work through this as quick as we can."

Anderson said it was important that the 2012 TPP figure was confirmed as clubs begin trade negotiations.

"We needed to provide certainty to clubs going into trade week and that is what we've done today," he said.

"I should say we've done this in agreement with the Players' Association but the clubs now know what salary cap space they have to trade this week."

The Additional Services Agreement, which covers payments to players for marketing and promotional appearances on top of those prescribed under the CBA will be $613,000, which represents a seven per cent increase on the 2011 figure of $573,000 per club.
 
The increase for rookie payments in 2012 will be more generous. The base payment for rookies in 2012 will be $41,400 a player, an increase of 17 per cent.

It remains to be seen whether this paves the way for a speedy resolution for the other sticking points in the CBA negotiations between the AFL and the players.

The two bodies remain, at least publicly, poles apart on fundamental issues such as the length of the agreement, with the League seeking five years and the players three, and on more seemingly mundane issues such as how many seats on planes for the players during team flights and how many Grand Final tickets each player can access.

But at least they are continuing to talk, a promise both sides have promised to keep. And the clubs will be delighted to have a bit more certainty, with the negotiations between the League and the clubs delaying their ability to finalise their budgets for their football and non-football operations in the new football financial year, which starts on November 1.

2012 will mark the first year of the AFL's new media rights agreement with Telstra, Foxtel and the Seven Network, worth $1.25 billion over the length of the contract.