Geelong coach Chris Scott to take 100 per cent pay cut during coronavirus crisis

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson is the latest AFL senior coach to take a significant pay cut after Geelong coach Chris Scott forfieted his entire salary in a bid to save the jobs of his colleagues.

Geelong coach Chris Scott will take a 100 per cent pay cut. Picture: Getty

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson is the latest AFL senior coach to take a significant pay cut to help the club survive the devastating coronavirus crisis.

The Herald Sun understands the four-time premiership coach selflessly offered to take a heavily-reduced salary to ease some of the financial pressures on the Hawks.

Clarkson’s personal sacrifice comes after Geelong it was revealed Geelong premiership coach Chris Scott will forgo his entire salary while the league is shut down.

The Herald Sun can confirm that while Scott will continue working as part of Geelong’s skeleton staff, he will do so without being paid.

Geelong sources confirmed his dramatic decision at a time when the futures of many staff are uncertain.

It is understood he told the club he did not want to be paid while his battery of assistant coaches were stood down without pay.

Most AFL coaches are paid up to a million dollars but like everyone have mortgages and school fees to pay so it is a significant gesture from Scott.

Most of Geelong’s football department will stand down on no pay until footy’s resumption, with around 10-14 officials at the club likely to keep working.

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Geelong coach Chris Scott will take a 100 per cent pay cut. Picture: Getty

The AFL’s senior coaches volunteered early on in the coronavirus to take a 20 per cent pay cut but now senior coaches are going above and beyond.

Clarkson’s pay cut is in the vicinity of several hundreds of thousands of dollars during the AFL break.

Brisbane senior coach Chris Fagan will reportedly take a 50 per cent cut while football is stood down.

Geelong’s management has been blown away by a chunk of their players who offered pay cuts to save staff.

Some staff even offered to stand down to save other staff members who have mortgage obligations.

The league’s players will eventually accept a pay cut while not playing despite the league hoping they will up a current 50 per cent pay cut offer.

Scott told Fox Footy on Monday night clubs had endured a brutal day of stand-downs.

“It was) one of the hardest (days) I’ve ever had in footy,” Scott, who was drafted by the Brisbane Bears in 1993, said on AFL360.

Alastair Clarkson is also taking a significant py cut. Picture: AAP

“We had a lot of one-on-one meetings with staff and our HR department and Simon Lloyd our GM of footy, we’ve done a mountain of work around that trying to make sure that we look after people as much as we possibly can while laying out the gravity of the situation.

I think we’re all a little bit scared at the moment and we can’t sugar-coat that part of it.”

“There’s a lot that’s going to happen over the next couple of weeks and I suspect it’s going to get worse before it gets better and it’s going to be a monumental challenge for all of us.

“I hope the players left the footy club sensing the determination of the people in the industry to support them as best as possible.

“One of the hard parts about that is we couldn’t lay it all out for them because we just don’t know exactly where this is going to end up.

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Originally published as Geelong coach Chris Scott to take 100 per cent pay cut during coronavirus crisis