AFL clubs can pay female, Indigenous staff outside slashed footy department soft cap

As the AFL prepares to slash millions out of clubs’ footy department soft caps, it has made an exception that will ensure the future of Indigenous and female staffers working in clubland.

Indigenous star Daniel Wells is on Collingwood’s coaching staff. Picture: AAP

AFL clubs have been told they can pay female and Indigenous staff outside their soft caps next year as the league prepares to swing a $3.5 million wrecking ball through their football departments.

The league told club presidents and chief executives in a Thursday morning phone hook-up it would be slashing their soft caps next year from $9.7 million to $6.2 million.

The news is a further blow for the assistant coaches and football department staff who have already stood down for the remainder of the 2020 season, many of whom had been hoping to return to the AFL system next season.

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Indigenous star Daniel Wells is on Collingwood’s coaching staff. Picture: AAP

The league outlined the cutbacks on football department spending for next season in a phone hook-up with AFL presidents and chief executives on Thursday morning.

The cut is around $500,000 deeper than the mooted figure of $6.7 million, which had formed part of discussions in recent months.

But it was the exemptions that were welcomed by clubs after they, for months, sought clarity over the cap.

Clubs were told that, for Indigenous and female staff in their football department, a significant portion of their salary could be exempt from the salary cap.

The exemption can be used for four staffers in AFL programs and two in AFLW.

It will mean clubs who might have had to sack Indigenous welfare or coaching staff as part of their determination to reduce costs will now be able to keep them employed.

Peta Searle is the head coach of St Kilda’s AFLW side. Picture: Nicole Cleary

The decision to effectively incentivise the hiring of female and Indigenous staff comes after triple premiership players Chris Johnson told the Herald Sun last month there needed to be more Indigenous figures across all levels of football departments.

Clubs will also have a $200,000 “apportionment” allocation above the $6.2 million salary cap that will allow them to spread out some salaries across the football department and other areas of their clubs.

So if a club had an IT staffer who worked in football but also across commercial and membership the club could put some of that wage into the football department “apportionment” allocation.

The 2020 soft cap – which incorporates spending in club football departments – had originally been set at $9.7 million per club leading into this season.

But the coronavirus pandemic changed everything, with the competition shutting down from late March to June 11, amid the biggest financial crisis to hit the game.

Brisbane champion Chris Johnson has called for more Indigenous jobs at clubland.

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There had been a push out of clubland for for greater clarity about the 2021 footy spend in order to help with their planning and to provide more information to those football department staff who have been stood down.

Some of those stood down football department staff now fear their chances of returning next year have diminished significantly.

Coaches like North Melbourne’s Jared Rivers and Brendan Whitecross and Sydney’s Tadhg Kennelly were casualties of the cutbacks.

They would be less likely to win roles next year, with clubs now able to tell coaches of their plans for them.

Clubs were also told the AFL had been working on fixturing for the next five rounds – with all Victorian teams on the road – but it is understood they may only publicly release two rounds.

Originally published as AFL clubs can pay female, Indigenous staff outside slashed footy department soft cap