Traded Brandon Starcevich - traded to West Coast as part of a 3-way trade with Brisbane and Fremantle

[JasRulz63]

Trying to ask this respectfully, but if the Eagles signed him to a giant deal knowing his concussion issues - if he medically retired hypothetically in a couple years due to concussion, would they be able to claim a medical retirement and cap concessions, or is it buyer beware? There’s zero chance his contract would be insurable given the risk.

Clubs to get cap relief for medically retired players

The AFL has established new salary cap guidelines for clubs who lose players to concussion

www.afl.com.au

 

[Philhawk]

Clubs to get cap relief for medically retired players

The AFL has established new salary cap guidelines for clubs who lose players to concussion

www.afl.com.au

Yah my point is I think this is a somewhat unique situation. A club like Melbourne drafted Brayshaw and his concussion signs only got worse post drifting. For Sydney, McCartin was given a chance (but not on a big contract).

I can’t think of another player set to be poached in free agency for a huge contract, despite known huge concussion risks.

It seems harsh to say the Eagles should pay him less due to concussion, but if they didn’t have the AFL seemingly promising them cap relief, would they still take the risk?

 

[JasRulz63]

Yah my point is I think this is a somewhat unique situation. A club like Melbourne drafted Brayshaw and his concussion signs only got worse post drifting. For Sydney, McCartin was given a chance (but not on a big contract).

I can’t think of another player set to be poached in free agency for a huge contract, despite known huge concussion risks.

It seems harsh to say the Eagles should pay him less due to concussion, but if they didn’t have the AFL seemingly promising them cap relief, would they still take the risk?

I guess would it be any different to re-signing your own player that has known concussion issues. Brayshaw had known issues with concussion before Melbourne signed him to his 6 year contract.

 

[Philhawk]

I guess would it be any different to re-signing your own player that has known concussion issues. Brayshaw had known issues with concussion before Melbourne signed him to his 6 year contract.

True, but I wonder if the contract was somewhat less knowing the risk.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

Yah my point is I think this is a somewhat unique situation. A club like Melbourne drafted Brayshaw and his concussion signs only got worse post drifting. For Sydney, McCartin was given a chance (but not on a big contract).

I can’t think of another player set to be poached in free agency for a huge contract, despite known huge concussion risks.

It seems harsh to say the Eagles should pay him less due to concussion, but if they didn’t have the AFL seemingly promising them cap relief, would they still take the risk?

We would just pay him out of the cap

Eagles have 12 mill in cash and 60 mill in a share fund so paying a guy 900k a year per year out of that wont be too big a deal for us. Would probably be 5% of our cash funds assumung we lower his deal to 4 years + 2 year extension based on games played like I think we will

 

[CarterS]

He has been a superstar for us. But no one can blame him for taking double the money, that WC are apparantly offering, compared to us.

 

[illegaleagle]

Knowing the eagles luck he will get knocked out in round 1 2026 sit the year out and then retire, then we have to pay out the millions left in his contract. Already had McGovern, Sheppard and Venables retire to concussion in recent years. I think I would pass on Starcevich due to high risk.

 

[Priddis Is Done]

Knowing the eagles luck he will get knocked out in round 1 2026 sit the year out and then retire, then we have to pay out the millions left in his contract. Already had McGovern, Sheppard and Venables retire to concussion in recent years. I think I would pass on Starcevich due to high risk.

He'll get a head knock on the plane, window seat, coming over to meet his new team for the first time,

Game over.

He's just won lotto with that contract.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

FFS this is not how Restricted Free Agency works…it has been explained 10+ times in this thread that the PSD is not an option in any way, shape or form for an RFA

National draft yes…PSD no

Anyway this is how it works. We are not going to offer Starcevich a contract under RFA. We will simply do nothing and Starcevich will request a trade. If Starcevich declines your contract offer he comes a uncontracted player. Uncontracted players can enter the PSD as they wish without needing to go into the National Draft because being previously listed means he can skip the national draft

This isnt hard to read about guys... The law is pretty plain and simple here

 

[beatnik]

Anyway this is how it works. We are not going to offer Starcevich a contract under RFA. We will simply do nothing and Starcevich will request a trade. If Starcevich declines your contract offer he comes a uncontracted player. Uncontracted players can enter the PSD as they wish without needing to go into the National Draft because being previously listed means he can skip the national draft

This isnt hard to read about guys... The law is pretty plain and simple here

He’s already a restricted free agent, regardless of whether you make him an offer or not…no PSD bro…doesn’t matter how many times you tell yourself it’s an option

 

[Elixuh]

He'll get a head knock on the plane, window seat, coming over to meet his new team for the first time,

Game over.

He's just won lotto with that contract.

You losers don’t deserve Starc. Imagine saying that.

I hex your already substandard rebuild.

 

[Mop]

True, but I wonder if the contract was somewhat less knowing the risk.

The reality is for the next two years at least we’ve got so much space it doesn’t really matter.

I mean it does, but it doesn’t. We can’t attract anyone of note outside of Starcie, Warner is still at best two years away if he even chooses to come.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Anyway this is how it works. We are not going to offer Starcevich a contract under RFA. We will simply do nothing and Starcevich will request a trade. If Starcevich declines your contract offer he comes a uncontracted player. Uncontracted players can enter the PSD as they wish without needing to go into the National Draft because being previously listed means he can skip the national draft

This isnt hard to read about guys... The law is pretty plain and simple here

1. You’re wrong.

2. Even if you were right (and you’re not)… Starcevich isn’t going to dog the club where he is a two-time premiership player.

3. You’re wrong.

 

[Maboo]

Anyway this is how it works. We are not going to offer Starcevich a contract under RFA. We will simply do nothing and Starcevich will request a trade. If Starcevich declines your contract offer he comes a uncontracted player. Uncontracted players can enter the PSD as they wish without needing to go into the National Draft because being previously listed means he can skip the national draft

This isnt hard to read about guys... The law is pretty plain and simple here

Not sure if this has been mentioned before but I am sure, as a RFA he must nominate the national draft and not the PSD

 

[Tugga27]

He’s already a restricted free agent, regardless of whether you make him an offer or not…no PSD bro…doesn’t matter how many times you tell yourself it’s an option

Don't try and use logic and facts with him.

He's an absolute peanut.
Everyone on our board just laughs about him.

 

[crankygeese]

1. You’re wrong.

2. Even if you were right (and you’re not)… Starcevich isn’t going to dog the club where he is a two-time premiership player.

3. You’re wrong.

Technically, he is probably right. More accurately, he's describing a loophole. He's not describing it very well, but that loophole is correct.

What he's not mentioning is that the loophole in question hasn't been tested, and would be incredibly unlikely because Starc wouldn't use it. But it is Bigfooty, and we all love a PSD threat no matter how outlandish.

So Brisbane fans are saying:
1 - An offer to a Restricted Free Agent may be matched by their Club. Should their original Club match the offer, and the Restricted Free Agent Player does not wish to remain with their original Club, they must enter the National Draft or seek a trade.
They're absolutely right that if West Coast make an offer to Starcevich, who is RFA, during the Free Agency signing period, and Brisbane match the bid, then they force a trade or the National Draft. The thing is, the Free Agency signing period is October 3 to October 10, while the trade period runs until October 15.

But the incredibly unlikely loophole works as follows:
2 - West Coast won't make a Free Agent contract offer during the signing period, instead they'll go straight to negotiate a trade with Brisbane and will continue to negotiate all the way through October 10th without making a contract offer that can be matched by the Lions.
a - On October 11th, after the Free Agency period has closed, Starc is technically only Out of Contract. So the Eagles could offer him a contract between the 11th and 15th, and the Lions couldn't actually match that contract offer, because he wouldn't be a Free Agent at that point, he'd just be out of contract.
b - If the trade period then closed without a trade being struck, because the contract offer wasn't technically a free agent contract, and so a free agent offer wasn't actually matched, Starc would then revert to being Out of Contract if he refused Brisbane's offer, at which point, he could nominate for the PSD rather than the ND.

Now, you'll say "Starc wouldn't do that to the Lions, that would be an underhanded trick that would **** us over." I would 99.99% agree with you that Starc wouldn't do that. But it is still a loophole.
Brisbane would in all likelihood try to contest that loophole and say it wasn't in the spirit of the rules. The Lions would be mad not to contest such an occurrence. But, rules as written, it is allowed, and as we've seen in the past, the AFL allows loopholes so long as the rules are followed as they are written.

Two recent loopholes that I can think of are Brodie Grundy being traded to Sydney. Collingwood argued that they shouldn't be expected to pay the 30% share they agreed for the remainder of Grundy's contract as that was part of the trade with Melbourne. But the contract only said that they would pay 30% of his contract for the remainder, and there were no future termination clauses, so Collingwood are paying that 30% until 2027 because that's rules as written.

Another loophole was Joe Daniher's Free Agency signing. The Lions offered Daniher a massive contract over 3 years to trigger Band 1 compo for the Bombers, then 12 months later, they extended him for another 2 years on a lesser contract, so the effect over 5 years was that his average salary was lower. They were investigated, the AFL ticked it off, because rules as written compo was only calculated on age and average salary over the length of the contract. As a result, length of the contract is now a factor in free agency compensation bands.

Again, I think it is a snowflakes chance in hell that this is actually going to happen, that Starc will actually exploit this loophole and walk to the PSD, but rules as written, there is a way to get him to the PSD, rather than the ND, and the AFL has a history of allowing those loopholes to be exploited when they're discovered.

Thanks to Lore for the final piece, confirming that once the Free Agency Signing Period ends, this year that is the 10th of October, Starcevich stops being a Free Agent and reverts to being Out of Contract.

I still think the PSD is incredibly unlikely, but god I was getting sick of the back and forth about whether it was ND or PSD.Though I'm sure people won't read this.

 

[leighmo]

Technically, he is probably right. More accurately, he's describing a loophole. He's not describing it very well, but that loophole is correct.

What he's not mentioning is that the loophole in question hasn't been tested, and would be incredibly unlikely because Starc wouldn't use it. But it is Bigfooty, and we all love a PSD threat no matter how outlandish.

So Brisbane fans are saying:
1 - An offer to a Restricted Free Agent may be matched by their Club. Should their original Club match the offer, and the Restricted Free Agent Player does not wish to remain with their original Club, they must enter the National Draft or seek a trade.
They're absolutely right that if West Coast make an offer to Starcevich, who is RFA, during the Free Agency signing period, and Brisbane match the bid, then they force a trade or the National Draft. The thing is, the Free Agency signing period is October 3 to October 10, while the trade period runs until October 15.

But the incredibly unlikely loophole works as follows:
2 - West Coast won't make a Free Agent contract offer during the signing period, instead they'll go straight to negotiate a trade with Brisbane and will continue to negotiate all the way through October 10th without making a contract offer that can be matched by the Lions.
a - On October 11th, after the Free Agency period has closed, Starc is technically only Out of Contract. So the Eagles could offer him a contract between the 11th and 15th, and the Lions couldn't actually match that contract offer, because he wouldn't be a Free Agent at that point, he'd just be out of contract.
b - If the trade period then closed without a trade being struck, because the contract offer wasn't technically a free agent contract, and so a free agent offer wasn't actually matched, Starc would then revert to being Out of Contract if he refused Brisbane's offer, at which point, he could nominate for the PSD rather than the ND.

Now, you'll say "Starc wouldn't do that to the Lions, that would be an underhanded trick that would **** us over." I would 99.99% agree with you that Starc wouldn't do that. But it is still a loophole.
Brisbane would in all likelihood try to contest that loophole and say it wasn't in the spirit of the rules. The Lions would be mad not to contest such an occurrence. But, rules as written, it is allowed, and as we've seen in the past, the AFL allows loopholes so long as the rules are followed as they are written.

Two recent loopholes that I can think of are Brodie Grundy being traded to Sydney. Collingwood argued that they shouldn't be expected to pay the 30% share they agreed for the remainder of Grundy's contract as that was part of the trade with Melbourne. But the contract only said that they would pay 30% of his contract for the remainder, and there were no future termination clauses, so Collingwood are paying that 30% until 2027 because that's rules as written.

Another loophole was Joe Daniher's Free Agency signing. The Lions offered Daniher a massive contract over 3 years to trigger Band 1 compo for the Bombers, then 12 months later, they extended him for another 2 years on a lesser contract, so the effect over 5 years was that his average salary was lower. They were investigated, the AFL ticked it off, because rules as written compo was only calculated on age and average salary over the length of the contract. As a result, length of the contract is now a factor in free agency compensation bands.

Again, I think it is a snowflakes chance in hell that this is actually going to happen, that Starc will actually exploit this loophole and walk to the PSD, but rules as written, there is a way to get him to the PSD, rather than the ND, and the AFL has a history of allowing those loopholes to be exploited when they're discovered.

Bravo! It’s clearly unlikely that he’ll go to the psd, but it’s also very clear no one on this thread has anything to do with the actual trade. We’re all just spitballing, but everyone is becoming super defensive and preferring to just post short one-line jabs at each other instead of actually thinking. Thanks for spelling it out!

Now, pick 51 for Starc, take it or psd losers.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

Bravo! It’s clearly unlikely that he’ll go to the psd, but it’s also very clear no one on this thread has anything to do with the actual trade. We’re all just spitballing, but everyone is becoming super defensive and preferring to just post short one-line jabs at each other instead of actually thinking. Thanks for spelling it out!

Now, pick 51 for Starc, take it or psd losers.

Pick 33 is what its going to be which is still overs.

Its stilll insane to me Brisbane fans want a pick they wont even be allowed to use so badly.

 

[Purple Suit]

Technically, he is probably right. More accurately, he's describing a loophole. He's not describing it very well, but that loophole is correct.

What he's not mentioning is that the loophole in question hasn't been tested, and would be incredibly unlikely because Starc wouldn't use it. But it is Bigfooty, and we all love a PSD threat no matter how outlandish.

So Brisbane fans are saying:
1 - An offer to a Restricted Free Agent may be matched by their Club. Should their original Club match the offer, and the Restricted Free Agent Player does not wish to remain with their original Club, they must enter the National Draft or seek a trade.
They're absolutely right that if West Coast make an offer to Starcevich, who is RFA, during the Free Agency signing period, and Brisbane match the bid, then they force a trade or the National Draft. The thing is, the Free Agency signing period is October 3 to October 10, while the trade period runs until October 15.

But the incredibly unlikely loophole works as follows:
2 - West Coast won't make a Free Agent contract offer during the signing period, instead they'll go straight to negotiate a trade with Brisbane and will continue to negotiate all the way through October 10th without making a contract offer that can be matched by the Lions.
a - On October 11th, after the Free Agency period has closed, Starc is technically only Out of Contract. So the Eagles could offer him a contract between the 11th and 15th, and the Lions couldn't actually match that contract offer, because he wouldn't be a Free Agent at that point, he'd just be out of contract.
b - If the trade period then closed without a trade being struck, because the contract offer wasn't technically a free agent contract, and so a free agent offer wasn't actually matched, Starc would then revert to being Out of Contract if he refused Brisbane's offer, at which point, he could nominate for the PSD rather than the ND.

Now, you'll say "Starc wouldn't do that to the Lions, that would be an underhanded trick that would **** us over." I would 99.99% agree with you that Starc wouldn't do that. But it is still a loophole.
Brisbane would in all likelihood try to contest that loophole and say it wasn't in the spirit of the rules. The Lions would be mad not to contest such an occurrence. But, rules as written, it is allowed, and as we've seen in the past, the AFL allows loopholes so long as the rules are followed as they are written.

Two recent loopholes that I can think of are Brodie Grundy being traded to Sydney. Collingwood argued that they shouldn't be expected to pay the 30% share they agreed for the remainder of Grundy's contract as that was part of the trade with Melbourne. But the contract only said that they would pay 30% of his contract for the remainder, and there were no future termination clauses, so Collingwood are paying that 30% until 2027 because that's rules as written.

Another loophole was Joe Daniher's Free Agency signing. The Lions offered Daniher a massive contract over 3 years to trigger Band 1 compo for the Bombers, then 12 months later, they extended him for another 2 years on a lesser contract, so the effect over 5 years was that his average salary was lower. They were investigated, the AFL ticked it off, because rules as written compo was only calculated on age and average salary over the length of the contract. As a result, length of the contract is now a factor in free agency compensation bands.

Again, I think it is a snowflakes chance in hell that this is actually going to happen, that Starc will actually exploit this loophole and walk to the PSD, but rules as written, there is a way to get him to the PSD, rather than the ND, and the AFL has a history of allowing those loopholes to be exploited when they're discovered.

It really doesn’t matter anyway. PSD or National, if the WC / Lions can’t figure out a trade then he’s getting to WC through one of them for a token pick. No other club could afford his contract.

The Lions only leverage is the Allen contract / compo but I assume the AFL are going to hand over pick 2 regardless since it’s hidden.

 

[crankygeese]

It really doesn’t matter anyway. PSD or National, if the WC / Lions can’t figure out a trade then he’s getting to WC through one of them for a token pick. No other club could afford his contract.

The Lions only leverage is the Allen contract / compo but I assume the AFL are going to hand over pick 2 regardless since it’s hidden.

The Lions don't really have much leverage with the Allen compo, because the Eagles have more cap space. If the Lions make an offer for anything that is less than Band 1 compo, the Eagles will match and force a trade, which would wipe out the Lions picks to match for Annable.

Allen would be even less likely to go the PSD loophole, because so many teams would have a crack at him, and any scenario where the Lions don't get him via FA ends up with them having all their draft picks wiped out and unable to match on Annable. So I think that is even less likely than Starcevich going to the PSD.

The Starc contract and trade will be interesting though, the guaranteed money and length of his contract would have dropped significantly after that head knock in the GF. As a result, his trade value probably dropped a bit too. It might end up depending on what the Eagles can do with their priority pick and what they have left over.

Whatever happens, I'm sure the Allen thread, like the Starcevich thread, will be a toxic hellscape for the next couple of weeks.

 

[Tom14]

Pick 33 is what its going to be which is still overs.

Its stilll insane to me Brisbane fans want a pick they wont even be allowed to use so badly.

You underestimate Dom Ambrogio's powers. He'll find a way to turn it into 5 different trades so we are set up to acquire more draft rorts over the next 3 years.

 

[Elixuh]

Pick 33 is what its going to be which is still overs.

Its stilll insane to me Brisbane fans want a pick they wont even be allowed to use so badly.

 

[beatnik]

Not sure if this has been mentioned before but I am sure, as a RFA he must nominate the national draft and not the PSD

Only 20-30 times

 

[beatnik]

The Starc contract and trade will be interesting though, the guaranteed money and length of his contract would have dropped significantly after that head knock in the GF. As a result, his trade value probably dropped a bit too. It might end up depending on what the Eagles can do with their priority pick and what they have left over.

If this is true, then by logical extension Starcevich’s interest in going to the Eagles will have dropped significantly also…at the same time, the result of that same game means his interest in staying with the Lions to chase a three peat will have significantly increased

At some point, the gap will narrow to the point where he’ll say: screw it, the extra money is no no longer enough to make it worth the move…the Lions will be fine with that

The Eagles on the other hand will be seen by player managers across the league to have welched and absolutely screwed over Starcevich…this would not bode well for the rebuild

All hypothetical of course, as is the idea that the head knock reduces his value etc

 

[Mop]

Only 20-30 times

You’ve not addressed the long point in the last page about the nuance of WC not lodging a bid and thus not being matched.

I share your view that by putting Brisbane putting a new offer in it is a defacto match and thus bypasses the PSD, but I don’t know that for fact as there isn’t any clear guidance.

I’ve emailed the AFLPA to see if they can advise but no guarantee I’ll get a reply