Why the AFL must act on third-party payments

 

Columnist

By Michael DiFabrizio, 5 Mar 2010 Michael DiFabrizio is a Roar Expert

Tagged:

 AFL, Carlton Blues, Chris Judd, Free Agency, Gary Ablett, Geelong Cats, Gold Coast Football Club, salary cap, third-party payments

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Geelong's Gary Ablett gets a handball away

There is a reason why the football world, leaving aside the players and their agents, are up in arms about the issue of third-party payments. It’s because this issue isn’t going to stop at just Chris Judd and Gary Ablett.

Two weeks ago, all anyone knew about outside deals was Judd’s partnership with Visy. Heck, I even wrote about the deals two weeks ago and that’s all I could dig up.

Now Ablett is involved too. It was revealed he’s got a partnership with Costa Property Group, one of Geelong president Frank Costa’s companies. Then Costa made (admittedly ill-informed) comments about seeking deals for Ablett from local businesses to help keep him from signing with Gold Coast.

Two weeks ago it was Judd. This week it is Ablett. It’s only a matter of time before another name pops up.

Someone associated with Hawthorn will be revealed as a backer of Buddy Franklin or Cyril Rioli. Then it’ll be the same in Adelaide with a Kurt Tippett or Patrick Dangerfield, at Essendon with a Michael Hurley, at West Coast with a Nick Naitanui, at Fremantle with a Stephen Hill, at Richmond with a Trent Cotchin, at Collingwood with a Scott Pendlebury or Dane Swan, at St Kilda with a Nick Riewoldt or Brendan Goddard.

When is it going to end?

Even before all this happens, there’s effects in the short-term that also have to be considered, and Ablett’s situation provides the perfect example.

Sure, third-party payments from businesses in Geelong might help keep him at Skilled Stadium. But what if there are businesses on the Gold Coast putting together very similar offers as we speak?

The Gold Coast has more than twice the population of Geelong, after all. Who’s to say third-party payments aren’t going to keep pushing his earnings up no matter where he ends up playing?

And that pretty much defeats the whole purpose of a salary cap, doesn’t it?

The cap ensures that clubs without big wallets or big backers aren’t priced out of the competition. If big name players can get paid extreme amounts of money that doesn’t count against the cap – especially as we’re entering the era of free agency – then we’re failing our own system.

The more commonplace the practice of third-party payments becomes, the harder it will be to tear them down. Which is why we’ve got to act now.

During the debate over free agency, the AFL proposed a cap on third-party payments. They saw it as a way to control payments not included in the salary cap. The AFLPA and player agents were against the idea, but it does seem like the most logical course of action.

One thing’s for sure, though. For the integrity of the competition, something simply has to be done.

Follow Michael on twitter @mdifabrizio

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