AFL set to ask players to take 75 per cent pay cut after proposal to slash wages in half
As a rift between the AFL and players over wage cuts during the coronavirus shutdown emerged, Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has urged decision makers not to “screw the players” in talks.
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AFL players have volunteered a 50 per cent pay cut, effective immediately.
On one of footy’s darkest days, the game’s 850 players agreed to halve their wages until May 31 – the competition’s proposed restart date.
If the 2020 season is abandoned, players will agree to even more drastic salary reductions.
The news followed a phone hook-up of all 18 club captains, AFLPA board members and club delegates on Monday night.
It is understood the AFL was not prepared to accept the players’ deal.
The Herald Sun believes the league will be pushing for a 75 per cent cut over the coming months.
On Tuesday, Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said it was important to not “screw the players” as the AFL grappled with its finances amid the coronavirus that has halted the season.
If the 2020 season is abandoned, players will agree to even more drastic salary reductions.
McGuire said striking a balance between the AFL and the players was crucial.
“This is not a union dispute,” McGuire said on Triple M.
“This is not people trying to get into it and claim a scalp.
“The situation is that the players have received money for this half of the year, because that was fair enough, everyone’s getting paid.
“It’s the next part of the journey that we have to get through until we actually start playing games again and we can get some money coming in.
“The Channel 7 money, the Foxtel money, stopped this week. It’s finished, it’s all over.
“There’s no gate receipts, the AFL is cutting through its costs, all the clubs are cutting through their costs, and we have to come to a elegant situation here.
“If there’s no money, there’s no money.
“We need to not screw the players at the same time. These are the centrepiece of our game, they’re wonderful people, they’re great young men, and we have to do the right thing.”
It came as entire football departments were stood down under Fair Work provisions. Some are likely to be made redundant in coming days.
Four in five of the AFL’s 600 staff will also stand down immediately, with the remainder working four days a week on reduced pay.
One senior football department figure told the Herald Sun: “It’s armageddon.”
Some clubs have up to 180 part-time and full-time staff that will be gutted by AFL regulations seeking to slash the football soft cap from $9.7 million to $6.7 million.
Hundreds of AFL players flew across the country yesterday to beat state curfews, with the league’s Irish contingent including homesick Essendon defender Conor McKenna leaving for home.
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The Herald Sun revealed earlier today the carnage would extend to 70 per cent of total AFL staff but it emerged even more would be stood down under urgent cost-cutting measures.
Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett said last night: “What is occurring is very sad, but it’s a challenge we are all going to have to face.
“It’s a big tree to prune and we’ll only get one chance to get it right. After this week it will be too late.”
Port Adelaide’s entire side returned from the Gold Coast victory to be quarantined for 14 days under new provisions, with its players given 24 hours to race back to their home states.
Clubs with bulked-up recruiting, analytics and development teams will be forced to make brutal decisions on making staff redundant.
Across the board at all 18 clubs there are likely to be retrenchments, job sharing, restructuring of programs and football departments which in the future will shrink under a $3 million slashing of the football department cap.
There are 180 assistant coaches across the league who will be sidelined and face an uncertain future in arrangements to be finalised on Tuesday.
The 18 senior coaches have volunteered 20 per cent pay cuts but their pay will be a matter for individual clubs.
Geelong coach Chris Scott admitted the tough decisions ahead would be hard to take for many staff.
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“It is serious. It is going to dramatically affect people’s lives and livelihood and the capacity to support the people around them. We are confident we will put resources around the players to help them the best we can but the focus on training is a distant priority compared to making sure everyone is OK.”
Skeleton staff will remain at clubs, likely including a senior coach, CEO, and heads of football, commercial and government relations.
The AFL is exploring a massive line of credit from the Andrews government to help bankroll its recovery, with the league also able to draw against its $1 billion asset of Marvel Stadium.
One club yesterday said it believed August was a more realistic resumption date.
AFL players are prepared to play two games a week to save the season, with an August-November regular season still a possibility.
All players have been told to maintain their fitness in the coming weeks and be ready to go for a resumption but will be locked out of their clubs for five weeks at a minimum and are unable to train with even one of their teammates during the shutdown.
They are unable to return to their clubs after 1pm Wednesday, having been handed some neater gym equipment like dumbbells and free weights.
The AFL has told its staff they will reconsider the stand down on May 31 but the reality is that they could be without pay for four months or longer.