MEDIA RELEASE: Historic Agreement delivers for players and football industry

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE FROM THE AFL AND AFL PLAYERS’ ASSOCIATION
Thursday 15 December, 2011

Historic Agreement delivers for players and football industry

The Australian Football League (AFL) and the AFL Players' Association (AFLPA) today announced they had agreed to terms for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that delivers a comprehensive package of benefits for players for the next five years, with a review mechanism at three years.

Details of the new agreement were announced today by AFL Chief Executive Officer Andrew Demetriou and AFL Players’ Association Chief Executive Officer Matt Finnis after it was approved respectively this week by the AFL Commission and the executive and delegates of the Players’ Association.

Mr Demetriou said the new agreement delivered certainty for the game and would enable Australian Football to further strengthen its position as the number one career choice for top Australian athletes.

It provides players with:

• The best retirement scheme in Australian sport
• An affordable increase in total player payments and additional career opportunities for players through competition expansion, providing nearly 900 jobs across the industry at an average wage of more than $300,000 per listed player by the end of the agreement
• A step change in minimum payments to rookie listed players
• A landmark emphasis on player welfare, education and personal development
• More rewards and opportunities for the promotion of the game and clubs

The key elements of the CBA include:

• Five year agreement, with a formal review at three years, on player payments and related benefits totalling $1.144 billion
• Increases in the competition-wide Total Player Payments (TPP) of 7% in 2012, followed by 4% in 2013, 5.4% in 2014 and 3% in both 2015 and 2016, resulting in an overall increase in the salary cap of approximately 24% over the five years;
• Increase in ASA limits of 7%, 39%, 13%, (3% and 3%). ASA amounts will increase to $963,000 per club by 2014;
• Each club to pay a minimum 95% of the combined TPP / ASA limits, an increase from 92.5%.
• Major increases in the minimum wage and prescribed payments for rookie players of 17%, 19%, 9.3%, 3% and 3%, bringing rookies to $53,785 per year by the 2014 year;
• Package of injury compensation improvements for current and former AFL players;
• Enhancement in workplace conditions which promote player professional development and wellbeing – minimum leave blocks in the post-season, allocated time each week for professional development and set days off through the season;
• $14 million contribution to the player retirement benefits each year;
• $10 million payment as part of profit share for the 2007-11 CBA agreement.
• Agreement between the AFL Players’ Association and the AFL for non-exclusive player digital media rights on the AFL-Telstra Network;
• A profit sharing method to ensure players receive a share of AFL net profit above forecast;
• A formal review mechanism at three years incorporating incentives for both parties to reach agreement.

The TPP figures for the coming seasons are as follows:
2011 – $8.21 million per club (final year of current agreement)

2012 – $8.787 million per club (7 per cent increase)
2013 – $9.139 million per club (5 per cent increase)
2014 – $9.632 million per club (5.4 per cent increase)
2015 – $9.92 million per club (3 per cent increase)
2016 - $10.2 million per club (3 per cent increase)

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Total Player Payments	7%	4%	5.4%	(3%)	(3%)
Additional Services Agreement	7%	39%	13%	(3%)	(3%)
Player Retirement Fund	85%	-	-	-	-
Combined Total	11%	6%	6%	(3%)	(3%)
Rookie Payment Increase	17%	19%	9%	(3%)	(3%)

 

Mr Demetriou said the commitment of the players to growing the game over the last decade, through a key expansion period with the inclusion of the Gold Coast Suns and the GWS Giants in the national competition, had placed the AFL and its 18 clubs in the strongest position in the game's history.

"These arrangements are about rewarding the players for their efforts, as the stars of the game, while balancing the interests of the whole of our sport – the clubs, the continued growth of the game, the next generation of players via our development programs and, above all, the fans who love our game,” Mr Demetriou said.

“This deal deservedly rewards players as the best athletes in Australia who are part of the most popular spectator-sport in the country, but also enables the future growth of the game.

“Over the next five years we will provide a future fund for players, a future fund for clubs, the future fund for the AFL and keep the game affordable for fans.

“As part of this next CBA deal, the AFL is able to provide ongoing support for the long-term health of our 18 clubs, while continuing to invest in the growth of the game at grassroots levels and in its the development throughout Australia.

“In announcing this Collective Bargaining Agreement, the AFL now has the ability to further build our position as the leading sport in this country."

AFL Players’ Association CEO Matt Finnis said the agreement was one the players can be very proud of.

“This is a historic agreement from the Players’ Association’s point of view,” Mr Finnis said.

“There’s real benefits here which we think will be a wonderful legacy for the game and also reflect the significant contribution that the players make to the game’s success.

“It’s a total career package which looks after the youngest players coming into the game, through to players many years after they’ve left.

“This CBA ensures that AFL is the career choice for athletes in Australia and we thank our members for their unity and support during this process,” Finnis said.

As part of the agreement, a profit-share will apply for the first three years with a formal review at three years for 2015 and 2016. If the parties cannot agree during the  review process in 2015, the AFL Players’ Association will be entitled to a penalty payment from the AFL (the size of the payment to be dependent on the size of the profit-share payment).

Players will also be entitled to a limited relaxation of the criteria around free agency rules in 2015 and 2016 in the event that club football department spending exceeds certain targets.
ends