Top draft picks in this year’s national draft will need to perform exceptionally well in their first two seasons to match what recent top-10 picks have earned in their third season because of new rules tying them to the club that selects them for an extra year.
Since the AFL expanded, it’s been common for those selected in the top 10 of the draft to demand a salary of $400,000-$500,000 a year when they first hit the open market in their third season in the league. Many clubs even extended the contracts of highly rated stars before they played a game to avoid later pressure on their salary cap.
Harley Reid is considered the best prospect in this year’s draft.Credit: Eddie Jim
However, under the new standard third year contract rules introduced in the AFL’s latest collective bargaining agreement, the potential earning capacity of likely top-five picks, such as Harley Reid, Colby McKercher and Zane Duursma, will, in their third season, depend on the number of games they have played to that point of their career and the honours they have achieved.
For instance, precocious star Nick Daicos – pick No.4 in the 2021 national draft – played 22 games in his second season, finished second in Collingwood’s club best and fairest, was All-Australian and finished third in the Brownlow Medal, so under the new rules he would be entitled to a base contract in his third season of close to $400,000.
This would be made up of a standardised base payment of $145,000, plus additional bonuses for the games he has played – a top-10 draft pick who plays more than 18 games in his second season gets $60,000 added to his base. There are also additions of up to $50,000 in the rare event a player wins the Brownlow Medal, a club best and fairest award, or is an All-Australian in their second season. Players would also earn $5000 in match payments which could be $115,000 if they play 23 games in their second season.
This would leave a player who performs exceptionally well in their second season earning a base wage between $320,000 and $400,000 in their third season.
Few players in the game’s history have had more impressive starts to their career than Collingwood’s Nick Daicos. Credit: The Age
In contrast, Daicos will enter his third season on a multi-million contract that was finalised late in the 2023 campaign and has tied him to the Magpies until 2029.
Under the new rules, those who play only a few senior games in their second season will receive a base contract below $200,000. As an example, Western Bulldogs father-son prospect Sam Darcy has played just seven games in his first two seasons due to injury. So, under the new rules, his third-year salary would be about $180,000 – made up of the standard base plus an additional $30,000.
Clubs will retain some flexibility to reward star performers by topping up their contract in the third year with an additional service agreement (ASA). However, industry sources, who preferred to remain anonymous due to confidential nature of contract matters, said this clause would not bridge the gap to what many third-year players presently earn.
The ASA would only be available to third-year players who in one of their first two seasons achieve any of the following honours: top 10 in the Brownlow Medal; top five in the club best and fairest award; top five in the league’s Rising Star award; or, anyone named in the All-Australian squad. It is very rare for players to finish high up in the Brownlow Medal or a club best and fairest award in their first two seasons.
The AFL and clubs pushed for standardised contracts for third-year players to stop clubs paying high draft picks on potential before they had shown their ability to perform in the AFL, and to help clubs retain players who showed promise early in their career.
The practice of paying players based on their potential, rather than their achievements, had put salary caps under pressure, particularly those of clubs in expansion markets, who often find their young recruits are keen to return home to clubs in traditional football states.
The new rules will free up money for clubs to increase the salary available to players in the middle of their careers and with proven records, with the percentage of the increased total player payments going to third and fourth year players dropping.
Two industry sources admitted the changed arrangements would limit the potential earnings of some high draft picks and would probably make it more difficult for the most promising tall draftees – who traditionally take longer to develop – to earn the same money as midfielders in their third year.
One industry source, who preferred to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak publicly, said tall players, however, might bridge the salary gap later in their career. He reasoned clubs would be prepared to pay experienced talls a premium through the middle of their career as they were more scarce than midfielders.
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