Clarkson talking long-term contract
ALASTAIR Clarkson has started contract talks on a deal that will lock him away at Hawthorn until 2022.
The three-year extension past his current deal until 2019 is a massive show of faith in the Hawks’ four-time premiership coach.
Clarkson’s manager James Henderson yesterday said talks that were scheduled for the post-season had already started.
They could take several months but a contract extension handing him four more seasons past 2018 will be done before December.
The club’s five-year strategic plan titled Dare to Be Different takes in 2018-2022, so it makes sense for Clarkson to sign until that date.
He is already one of the best-paid coaches in the competition but could earn much more at a rival club on the open market.
Henderson yesterday said the coaching legend was happy to remain at Hawthorn for the foreseeable future.
“I am happy for you to say that we have started talks,” he said. “It is all very positive. So there is dialogue going on now that wasn’t going on three months ago. We are lining up what it might look like.”
The club’s decision to postpone talks until the end of the season had supporters skittish at one stage as they wondered if he might depart.
But Clarkson is determined to plan for the club’s next premiership, with Hawthorn having ambitious goals about more success.
Clarkson would be expected to receive another pay rise but the AFL’s $9.3 million football department cap limits the scope of senior coaching salaries.
It comes as the Hawks and Brett Ratten agreed to part ways at season’s end by mutual agreement as they consider a revamp of their coaching structures.
Ratten’s move comes after six seasons and three premierships as an assistant coach at the Hawks.