SANFL needs to pay players more to end exodus to country and local clubs, says Chad O’Sullivan

THE SANFL needs to pay players more if it wants to stop them leaving for country or community clubs, former star midfielder Chad O’Sullivan says.

THE SANFL needs to pay players more if it wants to stop them leaving for country or community clubs, former star midfielder Chad O’Sullivan says.

The salary cap has stood at $360,000 per club since 2012, with players earning about $75 a week in the reserves and up to $1500 for each league game.

Community player payments have escalated in that time, as some clubs spent up to $200,000 a season, according to league officials.

O’Sullivan, 30, quit North Adelaide midyear to join Hills Football League club Torrens Valley. The Gawler resident would not reveal his match wages at the Lions amid speculation he earned more than $2000 per game.

He said SANFL players were not paid enough for their six-day-a-week commitment and they should not be blamed for seeking better compensation elsewhere.

“The SANFL is running an elite competition on a shoestring budget and the demands on the players are ridiculous,” O’Sullivan said.

“The payment structure is too immense from a reserve player who does the same amount of training as a league player but is on $75 (per game) compared to the top end of $1000.”

O’Sullivan, who won three premierships at Central District, said the SANFL could afford to raise the cap if more money flowed down from the cash-rich AFL.

SA Community Football Board chairman David Shipway this month described excessive player payments as the “biggest issue in community footy at present”. But O’Sullivan said the wages were “just going with the times and the SANFL aren’t keeping up”.

The Community board is introducing a pay limit from 2016, following a raft of complaints from leagues that spiralling match payments are killing clubs.

O’Sullivan said this would lead some footballers to retire for fear of injury and risking income from their full-time jobs, or move interstate.

SANFL general manager Adam Kelly said the salary cap needed to strike “the right balance between properly rewarding players and keeping clubs viable”.

“We believe we are maintaining that balance and we have no intention of increasing the salary cap in the near future,” Kelly said