A-League: New agreement will allow clubs to spend extra money outside of salary cap

‘Designated players’ as well as ‘marquee players’ will now feature in A-League squads under a new pay deal.

PFA president and Sydney FC captain Alex Wilkinson is pleased with Australian football’s new CBA. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

A-League clubs will be able to further strengthen their squads with up to $1.2m outside the salary cap as part of Australian football’s new collective bargaining agreement.

On top of the two “marquee players” clubs already paid outside the cap, extra money for “designated players” will be introduced from the 2021-22 season.

Clubs can spend between $300,000 to $600,000 on a designated player.

One designated player will be permitted at each club for the 2021-22 season, with a second allowed to be added no earlier that the 2022-23 campaign.

“It’s going to improve the product,” Western United chief executive office Chris Pehlivanis said.

“And with the quality of the competition to improve, it’s going to benefit clubs in a host of different ways.”

Under the five-year CBA, the A-League salary cap will also rise to $2.6m and possibly higher following a midterm review in 2024.

Clubs must spend at least 90 per cent – $2.25m – of the salary cap.

There will also be a 32 per cent increase the W-League salary cap during the course of the CBA.

Here's a snapshot of the ground-breaking CBA.

🗞: https://t.co/sXTb7xcxxf#ALeaguepic.twitter.com/FOlN0NqTj8

— A-League (@ALeague) September 8, 2021

Minimum wage levels will also rise for A-League and W-League players.

The W-League minimum annual wage is $17,055, while the A-League’s is $45,000 for 16 to 19-year-olds before increasing incrementally with age.

Other features of the CBA include “enhanced” standards in training, travel, accommodation, high performance staffing and players workloads, with gender equality embedded.

Australian Professional Leagues managing director Danny Townsend said the new CBA was a “clear example of what can be achieved when we work together with a common vision to realise the potential of Australian football”.

Professional Footballers Australia co-chief executive Kathryn Gill said the CBA would “provide a platform for our leagues to be relaunched and for a genuine partnership between the clubs and the players to be forged”.

“The players’ vision for the negotiations was economic security and stability for the clubs, the leagues and the players,” Gill said.

“This agreement is a foundational step towards this objective and our leagues will be stronger as a result.”

PFA president and Sydney FC skipper Alex Wilkinson said: “This generation of players, club owners and staff have been asked to make immense sacrifices to preserve our sport during unprecedented times.

“As a result of these sacrifices we have been able to take an important step forward and provide greater certainty for the clubs and players and make important progress in areas such as our high performance environment, player welfare whilst further embedding our commitment to gender equity.”