Travel and accommodation conditions emerge as issue holding up new AFL pay deal

TRAVEL and accommodation conditions have emerged as one of the issues holding up the new pay deal as players from some clubs are forced to pay for their own hotel room if they don’t wish to share with a teammate.

The AFL and AFLPA still haven’t agreed on a pay deal. Picture: Tim Carrafa

STINGY travel and accommodation conditions have emerged as a key battleground in protracted pay talks between AFL chiefs and the player union.

It was revealed on Thursday that players from seven of the game’s 18 clubs pay out of their own pocket for upgrades to single hotel rooms on interstate trips.

The costs are deducted from the wages of players who prefer not to share a room with a teammate when preparing for matches.

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In some instances, players willing to share a room are forced to pay for an upgrade anyway.

Rules around economy seating and access to business class seats are also being reviewed as part of negotiations for a new six-year collective bargaining agreement.

The AFL and AFLPA still haven’t agreed on a pay deal. Picture: Tim Carrafa

Geelong star and AFL Players’ Association vice-president Patrick Dangerfield on Thursday conceded the two parties were still “a long way apart” from striking a pay deal.

The AFL has pitched a heavily front-ended offer to the game’s 817 combatants that would see player wages soar by 20 per cent this season.

But the pay offer would be followed by increases of just 1 per cent a season for the next five years and is certain to be rejected.

Clubs and player agents are growing increasingly frustrated by the league’s failure to agree to a deal with the AFL Players’ Association, six months after the expiry of the last pay agreement.

Asked on Thursday if there was a chance that the players could strike, Dangerfield told KIIS radio: “Well I’d hope not, but we’re a long way apart at the moment.

“There’s still a fair bit of water to go under that bridge and we’re in constant negotiations with the AFL.

“It’s not about holding the AFL to ransom and getting as much money as we possibly can as players, we understand the roles that we have within our game, and the importance of growing it both nationally and internationally, but we also need to be rewarded for our input.

“We want a resolution and at the moment we’re a long way apart and so nothing is off the table.

Patrick Dangerfield says the pay deal is still a long way off.

“We are negotiating in good faith, but things are progressing slowly and I think we would all rather be talking about the footy and the great performances of the past weekend and the first two rounds.

“The longer it goes the more potential, I suppose, there is that there maybe a stronger action taken than what is currently happening.

“There isn’t a deadline but I’d imagine that AFL clubs right now would be pretty keen to get an answer on what the TPP and the payments structure is going to look like next year ... and I think things may heat up in the next few weeks.”

The AFLPA wants single hotel rooms to be provided for all players in the next CBA and greater access to airline upgrades and exit row seating.

Rules that allow clubs to ask their players to contribute up to $2000 or 5 per cent of their salary (whichever is less) towards pre-season camps are also set to be scrapped.