AFL shutdown: Star players to take a massive pay cut

Some of Australian football’s biggest names have accepted a 51 per cent pay cut in recognition of the unprecedented peril facing the AFL.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan announces the shutdown of the AFL season on Sunday. Picture: Getty Images

Some of Australian football’s biggest names have accepted a monster 51 per cent pay cut in recognition of the unprecedented peril facing the AFL.

With the nation effectively closing down from Tuesday, it is believed the government enforced shutdown could rip at least $100 million in gaming revenue from AFL clubs already stricken by the coronavirus crisis.

There are fears up to 1000 industry employees could be made redundant this year as the league and clubs moved to stand down 80 per cent of personnel through the current suspension in play.

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Mindful of the drastic impact the health emergency will have on colleagues in clubs across the nation, the 18 club captains and AFL player delegates agreed to halve their wages on behalf of their colleagues. On Monday night the players agreed to have their wages cut by 51 percent through to the May 31 suspension.

With the AFL and its clubs advising up to 80 per cent of staff that they will be stood down throughout the current suspension of play, solvency concerns are mounting for several sides, though industry figures are adamant there will be an 18-team competition on resumption.

Western Bulldogs president Peter Gordon saved his club from a merger with Fitzroy 31 years ago. But the legal supremo declared the challenge was nothing compared to the monumental issue confronting the AFL as it seeks to find savings of up to $10m per club this year alone.

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, who is a member of the AFL’s coronavirus crisis committee, lamented football “would never be the same again”.

“It has been heartbreaking all the way through, from the initial lockout of our supporters, because that’s why we exist, to play for our supporters and for our members, and of course, today, the national knock-on effect that is affecting everyone in Australia will hit the football industry,” McGuire told Channel 9.

The competition was already grappling with the loss of up to $500m in gate receipts with matches to be played without fans in 2020. The abridged seas­on will also see a dip in broadcast revenue, though the exact figure will be dependent on whether further rounds are played.

But the government decision to close gaming venues and gyms will also have an impact on the bottom line of several Victorian and interstate clubs.

North Melbourne led the way in abandoning poker machines, with several other clubs including Collingwood also withdrawing or pledging to follow suit, while most interstate clubs have always been pokie-free.

An analysis by The Australian has found clubs are at risk of missing out on a $100m windfall from poker machines and other club revenue should it be a prolonged shutdown. Nor will clubs that have diversified into other income streams be spared.

Reigning premiers Richmond, for example, operate sports and aquatic company Aligned Leisure, which manages a range of facilities from gyms and pools to tennis clubs.

But the coronavirus crackdown means these venues will also be restricted in trading.

A day after AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan announced the season would be suspended until May 31, the majority of staff in league headquarters were advised they qouls be affected by major cost-cutting measures. Club executives moved immediately to stand down football departments for at least a month, with the AFL to reassess in late April whether the competition is capable of resuming in June.

Staff members in administration and membership areas of some clubs had already been advised prior to the opening round they would need to begin using up leave requirements.