Player pay safe despite shuffle

FOOTY’S stars have been told by their union not to fear backended deals under a new pay agreement as Essendon goes back to the drawing board after its disastrous negotiations.

The AFLPA said on Monday the players who would defer 5 per cent of their 2021 salaries into a later year should feel confident they would still receive that money.

Under the player union’s modelling 15 of the league’s 18 clubs had enough cap space to immediately afford the league’s pay cut. But four clubs with salary cap issues will have to go to players individually and make individual changes to deals that will see them get under the 2021 cap.

It is believed some clubs have floated with players a 7 per cent pay cut across the board next year and warned they would have to cut a player if it could not gain agreement.

But many of those clubs were already under salary cap pressure that would have seen them asking players to backend contracts, with players unwilling to agree to cuts of that scope.

Clubs have warned the back- ending of deals is a recipe for disaster, but AFLPA executive James Gallagher said the average deferred amount per club is around $ 300,000, which is only 2 per cent of the 2022 salary cap.

But as AFL clubs hit out at the league’s new pay deal, which will save the AFL $ 23.4 million, it has emerged many players are scared to defer their salary after Adam Treloar’s experience at Collingwood.

Players who are contracted past 2021 will receive a 3.5 per cent pay cut overall but take an 8.5 per cent pay cut in 2021 receiving 2.5 per cent extra in return in both of 2022 and 2023.

AFLPA general manager of legal and player affairs James Gallagher said the deal was agreed to by 99 per cent of players and was the fairest model to spread cuts equally.

He said players would be paid despite some having to sacrifice 5 per cent of next year’s salary until a later date.

“The deferred payments are locked in for any player who signed their 2021 contract preCOVID. Under the agreed mechanisms, the average deferral for a club into next year or the year after is just under $ 300,000. When you apply that to the current 2022 TPP limit, it makes up just over 2 per cent of that cap,” he said.

“Players have a contractual entitlement to any payments that have been ‘ back- ended’ and there should be an expectation that they will be paid. That would be the case with the deferred 5 per cent.”

Essendon chief executive Xavier Campbell admitted the club bungled an attempt to cut player wages by 9 per cent this month until it could come to an arrangement with players.