Free Agency may well end up being a huge tool for the Gold Coast Suns in the future. However, it doesn't seem to be necessary for the club at the moment. The Suns are fortunate enough to be able to offer free agents a nice and unique lifestyle to come with their pay packet. You could make your case that the entire 2010 AFL season (and perhaps even further back) was a Free Agency period for the Suns when they chased the likes of Gary Ablett Jr, Nick Riewoldt and Kurt Tippett. They managed to land the largest fish of them all but who may be on the radar next for the Suns?
Rumours floating around through the 2013 season that Melbourne defender James Frawley was being chased by the Suns and (surprise surprise) he just so happens to be a free agent at the end of 2014. So, what ramifications does chasing a KPD like Frawley have on the team in the short and long term? What kind of salary would he command? Which current players will be squeezed out of the team as a result?
We know the Suns have a bit of money to spare at the moment but concession reductions will result in the team losing $400k from their salary cap. I estimated earlier in the year that the team would have around $600k to spare and the recent retirement Jared Brennan certainly supports the theory of excess cap room. Long term deals for O'Meara and Prestia are likely to be back ended while Gary Ablett will definitely be on his lowest salary at the Suns in 2015.
Remember, any free agents in 2014 will fall under the 2015 cap so you need to take into account potential retirements and front/back ended contracts. So what's it going to take to get Frawley (or any other free agent) to the glitter strip and is he worth it? James Frawley will turn 27 in 2015.
You can find a list of the 2014 free agents here.
Rumours floating around through the 2013 season that Melbourne defender James Frawley was being chased by the Suns and (surprise surprise) he just so happens to be a free agent at the end of 2014. So, what ramifications does chasing a KPD like Frawley have on the team in the short and long term? What kind of salary would he command? Which current players will be squeezed out of the team as a result?
We know the Suns have a bit of money to spare at the moment but concession reductions will result in the team losing $400k from their salary cap. I estimated earlier in the year that the team would have around $600k to spare and the recent retirement Jared Brennan certainly supports the theory of excess cap room. Long term deals for O'Meara and Prestia are likely to be back ended while Gary Ablett will definitely be on his lowest salary at the Suns in 2015.
Remember, any free agents in 2014 will fall under the 2015 cap so you need to take into account potential retirements and front/back ended contracts. So what's it going to take to get Frawley (or any other free agent) to the glitter strip and is he worth it? James Frawley will turn 27 in 2015.
You can find a list of the 2014 free agents here.