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Free agency is a good thing: Keep calm and carry on

Roar Guru
1st September, 2014
23

As a businessman with a background in human capital advisory, coupled with a passion for sport, I am continually bemused by the sustained whinging surrounding free agency.

AFL – akin to other professional sports around the world – is a business, despite what Eddie McGuire believes.

“It should not be a business. We have become very business-oriented,” McGuire said back in August.

Say what you want Eddie, however when you sell jumpers for up to $130, it’s hard to see where you’re coming from.

The AFL is a huge business. Eddie knows that, I know that; the players, coaches, officials and fans all appreciate that. David Koch described the AFL in the same press conference as, “a billion dollar industry”.

The AFL on its website in February this year disclosed that the number of players earning $600,000 a year has transcended from 26 in 2012 to 41 in 2014, with 33 percent of the league’s 729 players earning more than $300,000. Additionally, five players were members of the millionaire’s club.

In August, Geelong coach Chris Scott in called for the ‘distasteful’ free agency to be scrapped in The Age.

As a fervent fan of the NBA and NFL, I understand the employment of and feel strongly for free agency, as well as the introduction of an in-season trade period, of which I wrote about in 2012 on The Roar. The latter is a debate for another time.

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Much of the discussion on the topic of free agency has been that the strong teams will augment their arsenal while the weaker clubs will continue a downward slide. Simply arguing the aforementioned is short-sighted.

I hold the same view as the AFL Players’ Association CEO, Paul Marsh.

“The fear expressed by some clubs seems to be based on the view that free agents will look to leave weaker teams to join stronger teams because of the greater chance of success,” he was quoted in The Age.

“I find it interesting that so little of the debate is focused on why the gap exists between the stronger and weaker teams in the first place and what the industry should do to fix this fundamental problem.

“Would the fear of players leaving the weaker clubs be there if the gap between top and bottom was sustainably marginal rather than substantial? It is my genuine belief that free agency will showcase the need, and drive the change, for competitive balance in the game.”

As like most industries in business, disruption is at the fore. Free agency is the disruptive cloud in the billion dollar industry. Instead of whinging about players leaving one club in a quest of greater playing time, a new environment, a realistic chance to compete for premiership glory or purely for more money, clubs need to look in-house and analyse what’s wrong with the business.

The business appears to be a boys club with a merry-go-round of staff, and more importantly, there seems to be a clear lack of innovation and strategic thinking.

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I agree with Chris Scott in that, “it [free agency] had a place in the game” however disagree strongly that a restriction should be placed on players based on the number of years they’ve been in the league. Scott said, “That’s the concern, that a club will invest five big years and develop him then lose him”. Chris, that’s business.

Melbourne is presently experiencing the free agency issue with defender James Frawley.

Demons CEO Peter Jackson remarked that the situation is an example of “the problem of free agency”. Jackson was referring to a player – in this case Frawley – leaving a lowly ranked club for another, higher positioned, one.

The 25-year old, who debuted for Melbourne in 2007, has pulled on the guernsey in 139 games. During that time, Melbourne have finished 14th (3 wins), 16th (5 wins), 16th (4 wins), 12th (8 wins), 13th (8 wins), 16th (4 wins), 17th (2 wins) and 17th this season (4 wins).

So I ask, what is wrong with the 2010 All-Australian seeking a change? Think about if we had restrictions on moving to pursue career opportunities in our owns jobs.

Free agency (without the restrictions) is a good thing for the game and is a great wake-up call for all clubs. Let’s stop the persistent whining.

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