The AFL is auditing Geelong’s salary cap and third-party deals as other clubs continue to ponder how the Cats structure their player payments.
The league confirmed the process in a statement and competition sources said the Cats were one of two clubs being audited over the off-season.
Bailey Smith has significant commercial appeal beyond the game. Credit: Getty Images
“The AFL conducts regular salary cap audit activities across a number of clubs every year as part of our annual salary cap compliance process. We do not provide commentary on the conduct or progress of any of these activities and the only time we release any information publicly is if we determine there has been a breach of AFL rules.”
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon put the topic on the agenda at a Saints function late last year when he said he thought the Cats leveraged their relationship with retail business and sponsor Cotton On to retain and attract talent.
“Everything we are doing on and off the field with the support of our major sponsors and our private guys are leaning in to create opportunities, like Cotton On do for Geelong,” Lyon said at the club function in November.
“They help the partners, they help the families on and off the field.”
The Cats also came under scrutiny when an existing deal between club sponsor Morris Finance and their coach Chris Scott was looked at after the Geelong-based business advertised that Scott had been appointed to the role of Morris Finance chief of leadership and performance. Two club sources said the deal between Scott and Morris Finance, which had been in place for several years, had not changed.
The money from the deal was included in the marketing component of the senior coach’s wage, but it remained unclear whether any money went into the soft cap.
Recruit Bailey Smith also has a marketing deal with Cotton On, which he signed while playing with the Western Bulldogs. Geelong have managed to recruit big-name players regularly from other clubs including Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide), Jeremy Cameron (GWS) and Zach Tuohy (Carlton) and were in the market for Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver last season. They also met with the Suns’ Matt Rowell over the off-season.
Melbourne star Christian Petracca is another recent example of a player who has a personal deal with a club sponsor, yoghurt company YoPRO.
As reported on Monday by this masthead, Petracca appears on YoPRO packaging in his Melbourne jumper and kicking a Sherrin football, so those payments must be lodged under additional services agreements (ASAs), which enable players to earn extra income beyond their base salary for promotional and marketing activities. Each club has a cap on the total amount it can spend on these agreements.
However, Petracca also appears in a YoPRO Instagram video in normal clothes without any AFL “intellectual property”, such as a jumper or logo. In that case, the 29-year-old can accept money outside ASAs.
The league’s player payments team is auditing clubs other than Geelong in a less forensic manner and does so every season.
Dons to extend Scott’s contract, round one debut for Kako
Essendon coach Brad Scott believes his impending one-year contract extension – which will tie him to the club until the end of 2027 – is a show of stability the Bombers have lacked in recent times.
Scott is the ninth senior coach at Essendon since four-time premiership coach Kevin Sheedy’s legendary 27-year reign ended in 2007, and the extension would take him into a fifth season in charge. John Worsfold is the only Bombers coach since Sheedy to coach them for that many seasons.
Brad Scott is set to be tied to Essendon until the end of 2027.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
“The club has approached me about extending for another year, to show stability that the club has been yearning for, for a long time,” Scott said.
“This [was not] anywhere near my thinking. I’ve been focused on what we need to do right now, and what we’ve done over the last two years. If the club thinks that for stability and unity, and a show of action, they want to put an extra year on my contract, then I’m open to that because I’m committed to what we’re doing here as well.
“I think it shows commitment to the cause, right from board and CEO, down to football department, and shows the players that we’ve got great confidence in what we’re building here.”
Kako and Nate Caddy were close friends before they became Bombers.Credit: Getty Images
Essendon will start their 2025 season on Friday night against Hawthorn after a false start last week, when the prospect of Cyclone Alfred saw the AFL postpone their scheduled clash with Gold Coast to round 24.
“We had some very clear parameters around what we wouldn’t accept. Originally, it was put to us that we’d lose our round 16 bye, which was just a non-negotiable for us,” Scott said.
“We stood very firm on that as a footy club, and on the surface that looked like a pretty simple solution to the fixture, but to us, losing our bye and playing 20 home-and-away games in a row was not something we were prepared to tolerate.
“This is the next-best alternative. It’s not ideal, but neither is a cyclone.”
Top-10 draftee Isaac Kako, a Next Generation Academy graduate at the Bombers, will make his AFL debut against the Hawks, while former Lion Jaxon Prior is also going to play after signing as a delisted free agent in the off-season.
Prior’s father, Michael, played 81 of his 90 AFL games for Essendon.
“We’re really excited [about Kako], but he’s ready. It feels like Isaac’s been part of the fabric around here since he was 14 years of age,” Scott said.
“[Playing] the first game of his career is a great achievement, but it’s felt like a long build for him. He’s an extremely level-headed young man. He’s a very good player, he’s really capable, he stands out, and he’s already a fan favourite.
“He’s shown a remarkable ability to focus on what we want him to focus on, and he doesn’t shy away from the big stage either.”
