The weird and wacky ways clubs are dodging the salary cap

Gambling vouchers, fuel cards, overseas trips…finding innovative ways to dodge the salary cap is common practice among football clubs. SEE THE LOOPHOLES

web Local Footy salary cap

Gambling vouchers, fuel cards, overseas trips…

It sounds like a prize pool bonanza at the local RSL but these are some of the ways country and metropolitan football clubs are paying their stars without it being part of the salary cap.

Finding innovative ways to dodge the cap is, it seems, common practice.

The loopholes are boundless.

Some (true) tales include:

*A handy local player took a call recently from a country club offering a nice payment, but also an added extra.

“They said, ‘at the end of the year we’ll give you an all expenses trip to Bali because one of our committee members has a villa in Bali’,” the player said.

“It’s worth about 6k.”

Clubs are finding innovative ways to dodge the cap.

*A newly-built deck was part of a recruit’s package, but not included in the salary cap.

*A local football coach says he’s aware of an instance involving a husband and wife playing football and netball at the same club. (In many leagues there is no netball salary cap).

“The club told the bloke we’ll pay you $100 per week to play footy and your missus will get $800 a game to play netball…and the only time that would go pear shaped was if they split up,” he said.

*A gun player came out of retirement to play with a country club after an offer of a new swimming pool, again separate to the salary cap.

From players pouring a few beers for $1000 a night, to lawns being mowed for thousands of dollars…stories of salary cap rorting are endless.

Topped-up TAB vouchers and fuel cards are other ways players have got their cash.

A football manager of a country club says clubs are “making a mockery” of the salary cap.

“How can you monitor it and control it?” he asks.

“How do you audit cash money going into a bloke’s back pocket on a Saturday night?”

Another coach said:

“There are just too many ways around it.

“You might get someone who sponsors the club for 10k every year.

“Instead of writing that cheque to the club you cash it and just give it straight to the player and the club still puts his signs up and does everything for him but technically all he’s done is buy that player.”

The coach says it’s time to “scrap the cap” and rely on the player points system.

“It’s gotta be just the points,” he said.

“You’ve got to screw the points down even tighter. It will hurt clubs for a year or two but it’s the way to go.

“It forces clubs to have an under 19s…it forces clubs even harder to have to do it.

“It’s got to be points and the points have got to be tighter.”