Free agency - what does it really mean to a player and supporter?
As a player, it gives us the right to control our destiny - after a period in the game - a simple expression of our rights.
It exists in other professional sports, including English Premier League soccer, the NBA, NFL and NRL.
For years, AFL players have been the exception to the professional sports rule.
Make no mistake, I fully support the equality of the AFL system, draft picks and the salary cap.
Imagine an AFL competition like the English Premier League. The big clubs - Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool - literally run the competition, a competition where lower tier clubs can only afford to spend a fraction of their major rivals. It’s a competition where equality is only a dream.
We don’t want that here.
Yet the balance between the rights of a player to choose and rights of his club haven’t been quite right.
Rest assured, our terms of employment have vastly improved from those of years gone by. However, unlike many employees, players can’t quit tomorrow, give four weeks notice and move to another opportunity for better conditions.
Now, with the introduction of free agency, after eight years service a player becomes a ‘restricted free agent’ if he is in the top 10 highest paid at his club. His club has the right to match an offer made by another club and the player can accept his club’s offer, sort a trade or enter the pre-season draft.
After 10 years, a player becomes an ‘unrestricted free agent’, allowing him to move to any club of his choice. Ten years is a long time in football, particularly given the average career of a currently listed player is just over three years.
The point I’d stress is that money is not everything to a footballer when he is deciding his future as a contract is nearing its end. Loyalty plays a pivotal role in keeping a player at his club. Other factors, such as lifestyle, position in the club, the coach or coaches, club culture, teammates, relationships outside football and family, are all far more influential than the Aussie dollar. After all, any potential pay rise gets halved very quickly by a 48% tax rate!
Some players will change clubs to reunite with family or to take up greater playing opportunities. Others will leave for a bigger pay cheque.
But with most clubs operating near on 100% of their salary cap, few clubs are in a position to ‘throw’ money at players. With that in mind, players are now looking at a club’s culture, on-field success and personal development opportunities when making their decision as to where they want to play.
As a player who, at 31, will not exercise this right, I feel free from prejudice.
AFL clubs fight the retention game every year. Close to home, Port Adelaide and Adelaide both re-signed future 200-game stars Alipate Carlile and Kurt Tippett, in the process fighting off keen interest from their home states.
The AFLPA, through Matt Finnis and his lieutenants, have done an exceptional job in securing this win for their members. Yesterday’s announcement - which I believe was inevitable - squares the ledger between the rights of both players and their clubs.
Free agency is here to stay. However, while it is our right to choose our place of employment, never underestimate the club’s pull on a player’s heart strings.
Warren Tredrea
