So it’s official: out-of-contract Crow Jake Lever wants to join the Melbourne Demons, and has agreed to a four-year deal with the club.
There’s a bit of debate about just how much that deal is worth from a financial perspective – some saying it’s about $750,000 a year, others that it’s closer to $900,000.
Whatever the amount is, Adelaide are putting the message out there that it’s more than they were willing to pay, and have gone so far as to claim that Lever’s decision is purely financially motivated.
That is no doubt at least part of the story, but it wouldn’t be the whole story either – he is a native Victorian, after all.
AFL clubs have a product to sell to their fans though and that product is not always necesarilly the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
It’s much better for the Crows to have their fans turn on Lever for his alleged greed than it is to have them turn on the club and ask how they allowed such a talented player to slip out of their grasp.
And turn on Lever they have. Just check out their comments on the news on Facebook or Twitter – or this remarkably salty Wikipedia edit.
It’s not the first time in recent years that an elite talent has decided to leave the Crows – Lever follows in the footsteps of Nathan Bock, Phil Davis, Jack Gunston, Kurt Tippett, and of course Patrick Dangerfield.
Why the Crows can’t retain these players is one of the more puzzling mysteries in footy. From the outside looking in they appear to offer pretty much everything you could want in a place to play football.
Maybe there’s an endemic problem at the club, maybe it’s just bad luck. Bock and Davis were both poached by expansion clubs with more dollars available to spend, Dangerfield just genuinely want to go home, and Tippett received a mega-offer.
It’s entirely fair for Adelaide and their fans for being a bit miffed about the whole thing. Lever only spent three years at the club, a far cry from the “ten or 15” he said he wanted to on draft night.
He came to the team as a kid who had missed the entire previous season with an ACL injury and the Crows still had faith enough in him to draft him inside the first round – it’s not unreasonable to be sour about said faith not being repaid.
For the whole thing to come just three days after a grand final loss only adds insult to injury. The news would be received much better – albeit still not well – if he was leaving the club as a premiership player.
One thing’s for sure, Lever will get a vocal welcome when he next appears at Adelaide Oval. The AFL would be mad not to schedule a Friday night game for Melbourne against the Crows there sometime next year.
(Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
The bitter taste in Adelaide’s mouth is spilling over into how they’re handling the trade.
They say they understand Lever wants to go to Melbourne, but they don’t really give a rat’s behind, and will negotiate with any of the ten Victorian clubs who may be interested.
Typical hardball talk that we see from clubs every year but very rarely does it come to anything.
We’ll see plenty of talk about other clubs trying to muscle their way in on the deal over the next few weeks – with Collingwood likely to feature heavily in this discussion – but at the end of the day Lever has the right to veto any proposed trade and will presumably do so until a deal with Melbourne gets done.
Adelaide want two first round picks for him and while that may sound steep it’s the kind of price you have to pay if you’re going to offer a 21-year-old the kind of money the Dees have.
Lever is without a doubt the best young tall backman in the league and shows similar progress to what Alex Rance did at this stage in his career. If they could go back in time and get 21-year-old Alex Rance for two first-round picks, every AFL club would do it.
That said, Melbourne do hold most of the cards here since Lever is uncontracted. They’ve reportedly offered picks 10 and 27 for him and if they force the Crows into a game of chicken, there’s a chance Adelaide blinks first.
Still, I’d wager that Lever will join Melbourne in exchange for the Demons’ 2017 and 2018 first round picks, but Adelaide will throw in a second-round pick – possibly obtained from another club rather than one of their own – back the other way.
David C
Guest
Think Jack is happy with his premiership medallion.
Josh Mitchell
Roar Rookie
Has been thrown about most years since Free Agency was brought in, but it's once again demonstrated here, that clubs need to have some power given back into their hands. What even is the point of free agency, if a player can strongarm their club the moment they come out of contract before eligibility anyway? The AFL implemented free agency because of watching how it worked in US sports. What they didn't also bring in is the ability for clubs to get the best for themselves out of the situation as well. Adelaide should have the right to tell Lever he's going to Collingwood, or the Bulldogs, or even Gold Coast if one of those clubs offers a better trade for him. Trades should be dictated by the clubs, not the players.
Aransan
Guest
As far as I am concerned teams can be entitled to a home state final depending on their ladder position, not a home ground. If Geelong had fewer supporters present for a final, sure that is solely to do with the number of supporters who turn up and the MCG does seat 100,000 not 30,000 which wouldn't even cater for the Geelong members let alone supporters of the opposing team. Every Victorian team has plenty of opportunities to play at the MCG, it is important that teams from other states also have good opportunities to play there, especially if they are likely to play in finals. Perhaps Geelong just has to develop a game plan that works well away from their home ground.
King Bob
Guest
It isn't the VFL
King Bob
Guest
Geelong were treated poorly, having to give away their home ground advantage and play at ground which is very different to all other AFL ovals. Not to mention having more opposition supporters at your home game.
Maggie
Guest
So you claim Tippett was on $800k in 2016 (the last year of the original 4-year contract), you know he negotiated an extension for less salary (so now getting less than $800K) - but you happily claim the Swans are paying him ‘close a mill a year’? That is not an honest statement.
Macca
Guest
Sammy- what did you want Lever to say, "I am really happy to have been drafted by Adelaide and I just want to play some great footy so I have plenty of options to get back to Melbourne in a couple of years"? A draft night "I want to be a 1 club player" is about the same as "Of course I'll still respect you" on a one night stand.
sammy
Guest
But you didn't say you were not still trying to cure cancer, Lever has gone 180 degrees on his very public declaration at draft night. Maybe the approach would have been to not sprout off about being a 1 club player, don't say you will be staying but are just waiting for the CBA to be signed etc etc. I wonder what was told during the draft interviews that will unlikely ever be told as the crows thought this guy had a pretty strong character and they have been burnt.
Brayden Rise
Roar Pro
Well Chris, have you heard the Terry Wallace theory? Lever and Sloane's manager has bust been appointed the Pies head of list management. Apparently, as you would believe he is very close with the Sloane family, Sloane of course a free agent end of next year. From what I hear the Pies are not pursuing Lever but are saving their pennies for Sloane and Lynch from the Gold Coast end of next year. For us Crows fans how would that be losing Lever and Sloane in consecutive years?
Jolza
Guest
Geelong only traded for him as the Crows had indicated they would match the offer as is allowed for a restricted free agent. It's the only time ever that a club has indicated they would match the offer since free agency came in, and also partly why the trade was done for probably lower than Danger's real worth. And also because he had been a good clubman for the Crows for years and the club understood his reasons for heading home. He played his guts out for us right until the end. There actually is a history of generally balanced and reasonable trades done between Geelong and Adelaide include the exchange of picks that the Crows used to pick up Lever (and Geelong got Cockatoo at 10).
Chris
Guest
Players have only got ten years of income earning capacity in the modern game. They have to leave all their dirtty linen behind and become professional. The money our guys get pales into insignificance when compared to the Neymars of this world. He gets 500,000 GBP a week. If you get a career ending injury, what are you left with? ...Wounds and scars that torment you for a lifetime. I believe the clubs and the AFL are extremely stingy and our boys go through hell for the money they get. They earn and deserve every penny. I wouldn't be doing their job for peanuts and I don't think they should either.....Get what you can while you can and don't let anybody convince you otherwise!
Chris
Guest
Never mind. I got it off my chest and I hope the Dees end up with a Diamond Jim Tilbrook deal that will serve them just right! I have a feeling that our team has learnt from its mistakes and will embark on deals that will make a difference rather than burn a hole in our pocket! Watch this space.....
SportsFanGC
Roar Guru
LRoy the fact that you even imply that Martin could "maybe" do Gillon's job shows how little you know. Didn't claim that the CEO negotiates every aspect of every deal but he would have been very very involved in the biggest deal that the AFL has ever made and to suggest or think otherwise is ridiculous. Keep trying to put footballers in the same realm as educated and experienced businessmen - its humorous reading for everyone else!
Handles
Roar Guru
I don't read posts in capitals.
Handles
Roar Guru
Is that "two possession Tex" you are talking about? Maybe he should look in the mirror before giving anyone a serve.
Handles
Roar Guru
Well, if they could earn 10% more in their home town you might. Like Lever can.
Lroy
Guest
You clearly cant read. The word I used was ''maybe''. If you'd ever worked for a publicly listed company you would know that the CEO doesn't negotiate every single deal, thats why he has ''staff''. Andrew Demetriou was no rocket scientist, he managed to get a few deals done. Thanks for your contribution, illiterate sports fan from the Gold Coast.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Tippet was on $700K a year at Adelaide. He didn't move home to be next to Mummy (Gold Coast). Do you think he took less? At the time it was suggested that Tippet signed a 4 year deal for $3.55m (now we are at almost $900K per year). We know he negotiated an extension om his contract in exchange for less salary but official AFL figures show that for 2016 season Tippet was on $800K. Tippet was injury prone when Sydney bought him, They knew what they were getting themselves in for (and Adelaide knew what it was getting off its books). I know who won that deal (even after the sanctions). Do some research Maggie - it would stop you from guessing and casting aspersions on others, and in general would help us all a lot!
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Oh Yeh, and that Retention Allowance Thingy that Brisbane was allowed to pay its players at the time. A bit like the Swans' COLA!
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
The bit you fail to see Maggie is that Adelaide recruited Lever off the back of a knee injury that had kept him out for the previous season (ie: they drafted him despite his knees). Adelaide showed faith in Lever that other clubs, including Melbourne which had 2 earlier picks, didn't and now they are being repaid by Lever demanding where he goes and for how much. Adelaide will no doubt do the deal with Melbourne - they ALWAYS have facilitated player movements - but Melbourne will need to sweeten the deal from what is obviously an ambit offer.