Hawthorn will pay about $750,000 next year for the salaries of traded veterans Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara, who will be playing at other clubs.
While it was known the Hawks would contribute to the salaries of the players as an incentive for clubs to trade for the players on high contracts, the size of the contributions was not known.
Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara will still be paid in part by Hawthorn.Credit:Getty Images
Sources confirmed the Hawks would pay about $500,000 of O’Meara’s salary next year and about $250,000 of Mitchell’s.
They had been contracted for slightly more than $1.5 million at Hawthorn next year, so although the contributions to their salaries while they play for other clubs is a cost, the Hawks would look at it as having saved $750,000 in salaries on older players they had already been transitioning out of their midfield.
Mitchell has signed a three-year deal at Collingwood on about $500,000 a year – Hawthorn will pay the residual on what was to be his final year at the Hawks next year. O’Meara, who turns 29 in February, has signed a four-year contract with Fremantle.
More clubs than ever are prepared to pay the salaries of former players to move to another club and play elsewhere as clubs recognise managing the salary cap is as important a component of list management as bringing in talent.
Collingwood are contributing more than $200,000 a year for ruckman Brodie Grundy to play at Melbourne while also continuing to pay Adam Treloar, two seasons after his move to the Western Bulldogs. And in the biggest move of the off-season, capitalising on the AFL’s relaxed rules on salary dumping, Jack Bowes moved to Geelong with pick 7 in exchange for the Cats taking on all of Bowes’ $1.6m contract.
The Hawks’ decision to trade their two ageing stars was a signal of their intent to expedite generational change.
They received Geelong’s former first-round pick, inside midfielder Cooper Stephens, from the Cats in the multi-club Mitchell trade and gave up O’Meara, and a future fourth-round pick in exchange for the Dockers’ emerging ruckman Lloyd Meek and a future second-round pick.
The Hawks will be very young given O’Meara and Mitchell have left, former captain Ben McEvoy has retired, Jack Gunston has moved to Brisbane as a free agent and Liam Shiels signed this week with North Melbourne.
They brought in two first-rounders at the national draft in Cam Mackenzie and Josh Weddle, along with Jack O’Sullivan, Henry Hustwaite and Bailey Macdonald.
Karl Amon also arrived from Port Adelaide as a free agent on about $650,000 a year.
