Tayla Harris’ camp hits out over $150k pay rumour

Tayla Harris’ camp has come to her defence after she copped criticism for reportedly demanding a huge sum of money to play AFLW.

Tayla Harris is on the lookout for a new club.

Tayla Harris’ manager has defended her star client, rubbishing rumours about an alleged pay demand and suggesting the AFLW star may take some time away from footy after her headline-making split from Carlton.

Earlier this month it was reported Harris — who became the leading figure in women’s footy for taking a stance against online trolls who targeted an awesome photo of her in full flight — was seeking $150,000 a season from the Blues.

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That represented a significant upgrade from what the Herald Sun reported was a base salary of $25,000 and overall package of $80,000 for other work done at the club.

Last week talks with Carlton broke down and Harris will be on the lookout for a new club for next season — if she laces up the boots at all.

Carlton AFLW coach Daniel Harford told RSN radio last week the gap between what Harris was asking for and what the club could afford was too great.

“It’s been a bit of a difficult negotiation clearly for this one for us and for Tay, because you’ve got to put it all together and make sure you’ve got your reward for all your players who deserve it through the journey and Tay’s had certainly some reward for her efforts through her campaign so far,” Harford said.

“But as played out in the story last week, I think the gap was too big. We haven’t been able to find common ground for the contract for Tay at the moment. So it’s in the interest of both parties to just see what you can get outside.”

Harris’ manager Alex Saundry said the money dispute has been overblown, and was annoyed with Harford’s comments on the situation.

“It’s actually been blown out of the water in terms of its context,” Saundry told KIIS FM’s Jase & PJ on Monday morning.

“It’s been blown out of proportion in terms of the numbers reported in the media. The numbers are nowhere near where they were.

“Carlton coach (Harford) spoke Friday morning on radio and said the gap was too large. I think it was a really poor choice of words unfortunately from Daniel Harford.”

This photo by Michael Wilson made Harris a household name

She struggled for form last season.

Saundry said Harris isn’t just going to jump at the next offer now she’s severed ties with Carlton, adding “it’s not out of the question” when it comes to the possibility of taking a year off.

She maintained Harris wasn’t greedily chasing money, and questioned the hypocrisy about how the AFLW’s most recognisable face was criticised at the same time Christian Petracca inked a monster $6 million deal with Melbourne’s men’s team.

“There’s (AFLW) expansion coming in across the next two-to-three years. We’re really excited for what that holds but we will make sure the opportunity is right for Tayla,” Saundry said.

“Taking the money off the table. She is not money hungry, and I want to make that really clear.

“The same day that Tayla Harris, the figures were reported, there was a contract that was worth $6 million for a male — but who takes the target? It’s the female athlete all the time.”

Harris splits her time between footy and boxing and, according to Eddie McGuire, was eyeing off a world title fight later this year. However, she’s taking some time off from her hectic training schedule as she contemplates her next move.

Part of the criticism directed Harris’ way was because her form wasn’t great in the last AFLW season, and people were questioning why she was allegedly asking for such a significant pay bump when she was struggling on the field.

Harris isn’t a Blue anymore.

Saundry said Harris is fully aware she was below her best and admitted as much to Carlton in her exit interview, but a handful of poor games shouldn’t determine her worth when overall she’s been such a positive for women’s footy.

“She put (AFLW) on the map. Eddie (McGuire) has said on record that the biggest commercial deals that they were able to do at Collingwood in his time as president was because of the diversity, because of the female teams,” Saundry said.

“How do you base a career off seven average games or seven average shows … that’s what we’ve been disappointed about. That’s my choice of words — disappointed.

“Footy’s a business and we all know that so as a management company we have to be really agile and flexible.

“When you back Tayla into a corner like she is at the moment, gee whiz, I can’t wait to see her come out.”