Nation wide COLA equalisation of the salary cap

[HPKS]

Exactly

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl...ir-after-blue-murder-row-20180518-p4zg2c.html

This highly sensitive divide between Victoria and the rest was not helped by Mike Fitzpatrick’s extraordinary interview on Fox Footy’s Open Mike this week. Certainly not for relationships between head office and Sydney. Not only did the former AFL chairman come across as aloof and at times uncaring regarding deeply sensitive issues but he displayed an embarrassing lack of knowledge in terms of league rules and the game’s recent history

Defending his position on the Lance Franklin deal, Fitzpatrick pointed the finger at the Swans, saying their contentious cost-of-living allowance was designated for the younger, lower-paid players when in fact it was legislated to apply pro rata across the entire Sydney - and Greater Western Sydney — playing lists. It was disappointing to hear a commission chairman fumble with the rules.

It wasn’t just the COLA thing. Everything he spoke about sounded like utter bs. From cousins drug taking to the Essendon WADA issue. He showed in one interview what is actually wrong with the boys club that runs the AFL. Blame shifting bs artists the lot of em.

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Cloke was a near fixture on Eds TFS, despite being less than articulate, amusing or knowledgeable about the game. The sling was 5 figures per appearance. Seems to me Collingwood has always used this vehicle to pad out payments outside the salary cap.

There are more money making opps outside the salary cap in Melbourne and to a lesser extent Adelaide and Perth. This is what should be audited and equalised so there is a level playing field.

 

[100action]

Applying COLA to whole salaries over 100k doesnt make sense.

COLA should only take into account expenses for groceries and basic essential services.

People on 100K+ do not spend their entire income on groceries or basic services. Giving their entire incomes a % boost = more luxury spending and/or investment capability beyond the amount they have spent on groceries/basic essential services.

In before some idiot swans supporter says "but housing is more expensive in Sydney!!". This is neither here nor there because a house (even a PPOR) is an asset that has the potential to increase in value and most retain their value upon sale, giving one group of players the ability to purchase more expensive housing is unfair.

COLA should apply but only up to a reasonable value like 20k-30k (i.e. what the average person would spend on groceries and essential basic services).

 

[The Gong]

From what I hear most young players drafted end up living in a shared environment with either another player or a generous family that has a connect to the club.
I don’t hear of many if any that get drafted at 18 years of age and live on their own in a $500-1000 rental.
The cost of living for Young drafted players is minimal to say the least.
As for established players well they can afford any cost.

OK agreed on players on the big bucks but young players share board in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane too and that makes a difference when you're on $50,000 a year.

 

[HPKS]

Cloke was a near fixture on Eds TFS, despite being less than articulate, amusing or knowledgeable about the game. The sling was 5 figures per appearance. Seems to me Collingwood has always used this vehicle to pad out payments outside the salary cap.

There are more money making opps outside the salary cap in Melbourne and to a lesser extent Adelaide and Perth. This is what should be audited and equalised so there is a level playing field.

Also don’t forget the opportunities post their playing career that gets promised by clubs. Dustin Martin springs to my mind first.

 

[The Gong]

Applying COLA to whole salaries over 100k doesnt make sense.

COLA should only take into account expenses for groceries and basic essential services.

People on 100K+ do not spend their entire income on groceries or basic services. Giving their entire incomes a % boost = more luxury spending and/or investment capability beyond the amount they have spent on groceries/basic essential services.

In before some idiot swans supporter says "but housing is more expensive in Sydney!!". This is neither here nor there because a house (even a PPOR) is an asset that has the potential to increase in value and most retain their value upon sale, giving one group of players the ability to purchase more expensive housing is unfair.

COLA should apply but only up to a reasonable value like 20k-30k (i.e. what the average person would spend on groceries and essential basic services).

Rental costs, not real estate investment, is the issue for the young players. Cap it out at $100,000 a year and make it a rental allowance. Players aren't buying houses in Sydney on what the earn their first few years.

 

[Cincinnatus]

Fair enough if you believe Sydney abused it but don’t use fitzpatsh!t as your source. He’d make a good politician, just a bs artist.

If I were to believe him or you, itd be him.

 

[HPKS]

If I were to believe him or you, itd be him.

Ok mike

 

[Cincinnatus]

Fitzpatrick doesn't know his arse from his elbow. To be clear Sydney broke no rules and used COLA as intended. I'm happy to admit that it had begun to provide an imbalance against other clubs and that the AFL were trying to appease the rumblings from the power clubs but you can't go around saying they "abused" it when they followed AFL sanctioned rules.

COLA was scrapped for a reason. A premiership winning team picking up 2 of the biggest FAs in the following years is a recipe for disaster.

Fitzpatrick would know a lot more than you.

 

[The Gong]

COLA was scrapped for a reason. A premiership winning team picking up 2 of the biggest FAs in the following years is a recipe for disaster.

Fitzpatrick would know a lot more than you.

Except he went on TV and proved he's missing a basic understanding of how COLA worked. The commission at no time showed that Sydney was misusing COLA. Actually they knew they weren't and failed to clarify that. Get rid of COLA sure but don't say Sydney cheated.

 

[Tony_Clifton]

How about the cost of living for an AFL club? How much extra does a club like Gold Coast have to pay for a median AFL midfielder?

 

[Monkey King]

That 15% cost of living difference would translate to just 30k if the player is spending 200k a year on living expenses. A player earning $1m a year doesn’t need an extra $150k to cover living expenses. That’s ridiculous.

The cost of housing is a different issue, as that’s an asset that will bank value for later sale - take a Melbourne born player having to fork out extra on housing in Sydney, selling up returning to Melbourne later on, he’ll actually bank that difference in the end.

 

[Thetrader15]

Rental costs, not real estate investment, is the issue for the young players. Cap it out at $100,000 a year and make it a rental allowance. Players aren't buying houses in Sydney on what the earn their first few years.

<$100k...So only for the rookie list then

 

[Thetrader15]

Maybe the compensation should be for distance they live from the club.

Petrol prices are exorbitant these days

 

[Power Raid]

We need QOLA for the bears and suns build the game in Q
AFL to buy back the SA footy licences and crush the SANFL
Offer a victorian team TOLA for tassie

 

[The Gong]

<$100k...So only for the rookie list then

Well that's an option. $100,000 doesn't go very far in Sydney so possibly $150,000 - $200,000.

 

[Altum Volantes]

A lot of wank going back and forth here - I would say the only variance to the cap required may be something to help the game get off the canvas in Queensland.

Whether that works as a ‘Retention Bonus’ or as something to penalise clubs who poach from Brisbane/GC (ie paying Tom Lynch 1.1mil but it’s 1.4mil in your cap etc), that would be the only changes I’d support.

Make it about retention, not as an additional slush fund for attracting major external stars. That kinda spits in the face of the concept.

 

[liz]

Well that's an option. $100,000 doesn't go very far in Sydney so possibly $150,000 - $200,000.

The AFL has already set the threshold at around $300k pa. And it's a fixed dollar amount for players under the threshold, not a percentage amount.

 

[melbournemartin]

Do any US Sports have COLA?

In the US you don't only have huge differences in the cost of living, but even vastly different tax levels from state to state. And then for some sports, particularly hockey, you even have games in Canada so you have a variable exchange rate to deal with.

As far as I am aware, no COLA. There may be some more subtle effects in play but no base inflation of the salary cap.

 

[chunkylover]

How about the cost of living for an AFL club? How much extra does a club like Gold Coast have to pay for a median AFL midfielder?

Pick 2 in the draft opens the conversation

 

[The Gong]

Do any US Sports have COLA?

In the US you don't only have huge differences in the cost of living, but even vastly different tax levels from state to state. And then for some sports, particularly hockey, you even have games in Canada so you have a variable exchange rate to deal with.

As far as I am aware, no COLA. There may be some more subtle effects in play but no base inflation of the salary cap.

Nope but players are also making vastly bigger salaries so location doesn't have as big an impact.

 

[Bardo State]

Any proposal that makes it even harder for the Queensland clubs to retain players is a complete non-starter for mine.

It's not like the clubs in cheaper cost of living areas are dominating the player market.

If anything I think clubs should get a salary cap bonus for every player they have that spent their entire life up until AFL footy out of that state. Doesn't have to be massive. Maybe something like making ~3% of the payments in those contracts not count towards the cap.

Also it has been said but house prices cannot count towards cost of living calculations as they are assets that players can sell later on. You don't lose out at all if you buy a house in Sydney when you're 21. In fact the asset price is probably more likely to grow at a higher rate than in most other major Australian cities.

 

[The Gong]

Any proposal that makes it even harder for the Queensland clubs to retain players is a complete non-starter for mine.

It's not like the clubs in cheaper cost of living areas are dominating the player market.

If anything I think clubs should get a salary cap bonus for every player they have that spent their entire life up until AFL footy out of that state. Doesn't have to be massive. Maybe something like making ~3% of the payments in those contracts not count towards the cap.

Also it has been said but house prices cannot count towards cost of living calculations as they are assets that players can sell later on. You don't lose out at all if you buy a house in Sydney when you're 21. In fact the asset price is probably more likely to grow at a higher rate than in most other major Australian cities.

Except they aren't buying houses on a rookie wage. They're renting and it's ridiculously expensive.

 

[Kwality]

Or everyone just has the same salary cap

And some players shoulder the travel burden for $0, $nil, $squattt, $ not one brass razoo - where are you Mr Shorten, equalisation is not a factor in the AFL, anyone who believes Gil & Co is probably on the right side of equalisation, what does equal mean to Gil, sure not my version of e-kwal.

Watch the beneficiaries of Gils version defend their patch, COLA, you only have to look at Australias housing market over the past 5 years to see how it varies year by year, why is the housing market the indicator?

 

[Kwality]

Any proposal that makes it even harder for the Queensland clubs to retain players is a complete non-starter for mine.

It's not like the clubs in cheaper cost of living areas are dominating the player market.

If anything I think clubs should get a salary cap bonus for every player they have that spent their entire life up until AFL footy out of that state. Doesn't have to be massive. Maybe something like making ~3% of the payments in those contracts not count towards the cap.

Also it has been said but house prices cannot count towards cost of living calculations as they are assets that players can sell later on. You don't lose out at all if you buy a house in Sydney when you're 21. In fact the asset price is probably more likely to grow at a higher rate than in most other major Australian cities.

What hope a 21 year old on an AFL contract with only 2 years to go, getting a loan to buy a place in a desirable part of Sydney,even a depressed property market like Perth (todays market).
Off contract, delisted with a $mil loan, that is a forced sale

Spot on re Qld, I'd give them the kitchen sink paid for by the AFL.