No player deserves a four-year contract deal in the AFL
As we brace for a new world post 2020, you only have to glance back at some of the long-term contracts of the past to realise how quickly it can unravel for club and player, writes Kane Cornes.
Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
There is not one AFL player in the competition that deserves longer than a four-year contract.
The balance of power when negotiating player contracts has shifted markedly in favour of the players since the AFL introduced free agency at the end of the 2012 season.
Before the introduction of free agency, a three-year contract was considered a long-term and a significant show of faith from a club to its player.
Post free agency it has been common to see clubs, particularly those trying to recruit a player from a rival club, to hand out deals five years or more in length.
Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Watch every match of every round Live & On-Demand. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
The most famous contract in AFL history was signed by Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin in 2014 when he left Hawthorn to join Sydney on a nine-year, $10 million contract.
The deal meant Franklin would be 36 by the time it expires in 2023.
Initially, it was considered a success as Franklin’s star power and outstanding on-field performances made Sydney relevant again in an NRL dominated market.
However, this week he was ruled out for the rest of this season, after appearing in only 10 matches last season. He has been unable to overcome chronic hamstring and groin injuries, and alarmingly Sydney still owes him $3 million irrespective of whether he plays another AFL game.
Greater Western Sydney also got sucked into the long-term contract phenomenon with a number of its star players signing mega-deals.
Midfielder Josh Kelly committed to the club for a record 10 years. Defender Lachie Whitfield signed for seven as did new captain Steven Coniglio.
All three have been underwhelming this season, and the Giants are languishing in 11th place on the AFL ladder.
Collingwood mistakenly signed South Australian ruckman Brodie Grundy to a seven-year deal after they were spooked into believing Grundy might return home to Adelaide after the Crows showed interest in him last year. Grundy will be 33 when that deal expires.
Adelaide and Port Adelaide have also made significant errors in handing out irresponsible contracts.
Even though Josh Jenkins was traded to Geelong last year, the Crows still fit the bill for a portion of the ridiculous five-year, $3 million contract he signed in 2016.
MORE AFL:
Meet Truck: The man entrusted to rebuild Essendon
Revealed: AFL’s biggest improvers of 2020
Moneyball: Is Alex Rance really considering comeback?
The choice to lock in captain Rory Sloane for five years in what is the richest deal in Adelaide’s history when he had just turned 28 may also prove costly. Sloane has missed 16 games in the last three seasons and already appears past his prime.
Adelaide also handed 22-year-old defender Wayne Milera a five-year contract in February.
Milera has spent the majority of this season on the sidelines with a foot injury, and it’s uncertain whether he will ever reach his full potential. Through five seasons in the AFL, his highest finish in the best and fairest is eighth in 2018.
At Alberton, list manager Jason Cripps also erred in signing recruits Charlie Dixon, Tom Rockliff, Jack Watts and Stephen Motlop to long term deals. Unfortunately, besides Dixon in 2017 and this season, all four players have underperformed based on the investment the club afforded them.
On Monday Adelaide football director Mark Ricciuto peddled a rumour on radio Triple M that Dixon, who’s five-year deal expires in October, is being chased by Brisbane. He insinuated that Brisbane has a four-year offer on the table.
Under no circumstance should the Power sign up Dixon, who turns 30 next month, and has a lengthy injury history for anything longer than two seasons.
If Dixon wants a longer-term deal, Port Adelaide must become ruthless and turn its attention to other key forwards who are on the market such as Ben Brown, Joe Daniher or Jesse Hogan.
The same applies to free agent Brad Crouch at Adelaide if he chooses to remain at the club. In eight seasons, Crouch averages just 13 games per-season due to repetitive injuries, and it would be negligent of list boss Justin Reid to offer the midfielder anything longer than a two-year tenure.
Something happens subconsciously to a player when they know, regardless of how they perform, that they will be financially secure.
You only need to look at the case of North Melbourne’s Jared Polec who joined the Kangaroos from Port Adelaide on a five-year agreement in 2018.
Polec is only into his second season at the club but has already been dropped multiple times this season and remains out of the struggling North Melbourne side.
He is paying the price for lack of defensive action and accountability.
North Melbourne still owe Polec $2.4 million over the next three seasons regardless of whether he plays another senior game.
Besides Richmond superstar Dustin Martin, who signed a lucrative contract at the end of his Brownlow Medal-winning year in 2017, there isn’t a long-term deal that has conclusively worked out in favour of the club.
So why do clubs keep repeating the same mistakes?
There is no greater motivating factor for footballers than to becoming out-of-contract.
It’s no surprise the Power’s Sam Powell-Pepper, and Dixon are in career-best form this year, both are out-of-contract and playing for their football lives.
AFL games record holder and North Melbourne legend Brent Harvey was only given one-year deals towards the back end of his career when his form warranted more.
He thrived playing on the edge.
In the current economic climate where there is uncertainty over list sizes and the salary cap, it’s time that clubs realigned the balance of power that has swung disproportionately in favour of the players and their managers.
Colossal contracts are a thing of the past.
WINNERS
AVOIDING THE DUCK
Adelaide will win its first game of the season on Tuesday night against Hawthorn who are coming off a four-day break and missing key personal. The Crows will be fresh off a bye, playing at home against a bottom four side. They are a dead set certainty to avoid the dreaded, winless season.
FANTASIA THE CROW
Essendon’s Orazio Fantasia wants to return home to South Australia and Adelaide are in deep discussions to sign him and despite his recent run of soft tissue injuries, he would be an excellent recruit for the Crows. Fantasia is only 24 and adds much needed firepower to Adelaide’s impotent forward line.
MACKAY THE SURVIVOR
Adelaide midfielder David Mackay should be rewarded with another contract at Adelaide for next season. Once a whipping boy with Crows fans, he never complained about being left out of the side and being overlooked for youth. Each time he is selected; he performs his role perfectly. Mackay is closing in on 250 AFL games and has had an outstanding career.
HARTIGAN DILEMMA
It looked certain Adelaide were going to move on defender Kyle Hartigan at seasons end, however he produced his best performance of the year last Sunday. Hartigan took the points against Geelong’s Coleman Medal leader Tom Hawkins which makes Adelaide’s call on his future much more difficult.
BUTTERS SPECIAL
More than once this season, Port Adelaide second-year sensation Zak Butters has been the match-winner. Phil Walsh had a favourite saying “you can’t teach that”, which applies absolutely for Butters’ stoppage goal in the last quarter against Hawthorn on Saturday.
LOSERS
FORWARD MESS
How much further evidence does Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks need to discover that Darcy Fogarty and Taylor Walker can’t function in the same forward line? Walker and Fogarty combined for 11 disposals, two marks and were held goalless again on Sunday.
DANGER ON DIVING
AFL players association president Patrick Dangerfield says the staging issue is a ‘storm in a tea cup.’ Try telling that to Essendon who were penalised two goals as a result of Richmond’s Dylan Grimes and Nick Vlaustin diving on Saturday night. Essendon lost the game by exactly that margin.
MRO MADNESS
Four out of the six charges that fronted the AFL tribunal after been sanctioned by the AFL’s match review officer Michael Christian were thrown out or downgraded. It was a really bad week for Christian and AFL football boss Steven Hocking.
FITNESS FIZZLE
Adelaide went goalless in the last quarter against Geelong on Sunday and its inability to run out games this season is concerning. It’s no secret the players returned from the COVID-19 shutdown in poor shape and they are paying for it now.
WOOSHA’S SPIN
Essendon coach John Worsfold boldly declared his side will be a very good and quickly. Emphatic statements such as these mean little for Bombers fans who have been waiting 17 years to witness their side win a final.
Originally published as No player deserves a four-year contract deal in the AFL