2011 AFL total player payment summary

[Pies4shaw]

Since we're all obviously in for a year of speculation about which stars will take the big money on offer, I thought I might post some material to give a little factual under-pinning to the speculation.

The AFL Annual Report apparently contains the attached information (this extract is posted on the AFL site).

It shows, among other things, that there were only 40 players in the AFL paid more than $500,000 in 2011 (that's a little over 2 per club).

The Herald-Sun has published its view as to who is being paid what at the top (I don't know whether they know the players' identities or are just guessing but apparently it doesn't include the "out of code" recruits like Folau and Hunt, who are paid substantially, it would seem, by the AFL). Interestingly, it appears that the teams who have won 4 of the last five premierships do not have any of the top 10 best-paid players in the competition (though Hawthorn, which has won 1 of the last five flags, has two of them):

"AFL TOP-EARNERS LAST SEASON

$1 million+
Gary Ablett (Gold Coast)
Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)

$900,000-$1 million
Chris Judd (Carlton)

$800,000-$900,000
Lance Franklin (Hawthorn)
Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle)
Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle)
Jonathan Brown (Brisbane Lions)

$700,000-$800,000
Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)
Dean Cox (West Coast)
Adam Goodes (Sydney)".

See http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/afl-stars-turning-down-big-money-moves/story-e6frf9jf-1226277578650

That may say something about how Collingwood has been able to keep its list together fairly well, to date. Say, eg, if Ablett or Reiwoldt was at Collingwood - putting aside the question about how there could be money in the salaray cap to pay any other decent players at all after they got their $1M+++, how could you justify paying the likes of Swan, Thomas Pendlebury and Cloke (there are probably others - those are just the names which come to mind) half (or perhaps less) what those guys get?

It suggests to me that maintaining a parity of pay-rates within the Club based on a fair view of the relative worth of the players may be just as important as what the top players are actually paid. Thus, it may be that one of the top players might stand out for the GWS or Gold Coast loot (or the limited free-agency money soon to be on offer) but, if they do, it may be impossible to match the money, not only because the Club may not have it within the salary cap but because, even if it could afford to pay the increase, the flow-on consequences in a top team of mostly very good (at least) players might be too difficult to manage.

On another note, that's probably why the Club had to bargain hard with, among others, the Krak - if he'd been given a contract over $300K, that would probably have put him in the top third of earners in the competition (I'm going here on the list of 608 players who took to the field, not the larger list which presumably includes new recruits etc who were on basic wages). Personally, I think he's a great player but I doubt that I could find a place for him in Collingwood's top 8.