How to fix free agency

[wingardfreak]

Needs to be set up more like the NBA.
Scrap the crap were you have to pay 95% of your salary cap and make clubs that have filled their cap over that mark ineligible to bid for free agents or give them a mid level allowance of say 250-300 k allowed to be spent if over the 95%.
This allows lower ranked clubs (which should be the clubs well below this cap line) to bid the big dollars for players and not allow clubs stacked with high paid players already to keep topping up as they would be clearly outbid by their lower ranked rivals.
This would force players to either stay at their current clubs or leave to a lower ranked, this would work especially well for restricted free agents as most likely their current club could match the offers coming from the clubs above the cut-off, the only case of them not being able to match would be if a lower ranked club with lots of cap space bid big for them. Thus helping equalisation.

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

Get rid of it!

 

[Furn2]

I'm not sure it would make much difference. Players have the power anyway, they pick the club they want and get their way everytime for unders.

Buddy would still be at a Sydney, Frawley would be at Hawthorn etc etc.

 

[northmac]

No. Most players aren't set up for life at all.

Most players are on a list for three seasons, probably making $100k tops a year (however likely to be closer to $50k). Those players have then either missed the boat study wise and start from a few years behind the rest of their age group, or end up as apprentices on sweet **** all at 22-23.

Only very, very few players get "set up for life". You know diddly squat about this topic.

While I don't necessarily agree with free agency, I also don't begrudge the players getting their fair share of the windfall the game gets.

Your comments here are spot on. Having had a son who went through the process playing a season and over 15 games then being delisted, most of the people who comment have no idea about what goes on within the clubs. The amount of untruths written in papers by the Jon Ralphs of the world is horrendous. I know with my son they were just making stuff up. Sadly not many of these young players realise the money they receive is above and beyond what the average Joe receives and often don't get a lot of guidance so very few get set up for life.

 

[baldandbroke]

We all have theories on how to fix this Free Agency nightmare that has been created ... how about this for a plan:

1. Scrap Free Agency
2. Any un-contracted player can request a trade
3. If no trade is done he can either re-sign with his current club or ask to be put into the National draft
4. When any of these players are picked up in the National Draft, his old club get the pick after he is picked up

Simples.