Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham calls for all concussion retirees’ wages to be exempt from salary cap
A club chairman has made a push for all players who retire due to concussion, whether ruled unfit by the league or not, to have their wages exempted from the salary cap.
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Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham says every AFL player who chooses to retire through concussion should have their wages exempted from the salary cap, even if they have not been medically ruled unfit by the league.
The Swans paid out Paddy McCartin’s contract in full, but were able to exempt his 2024 wage from the salary cap after the AFL ruled he should medically retire from the game.
The Herald Sun revealed last week that Brayshaw would be paid for the final four seasons of his deal as they work through the finer details of exempting some or all of that wage for their total player payments.
But Pridham told this masthead on Friday that even retiring players who had not been ruled ineligible to play football because of concussions should have future earnings exempted from the cap.
“I think it’s common sense. If players are forced to retire because of concussion it should be outside the salary cap,” he said.
“As a game we need to look after players. There are going to be incidents where the AFL panel don’t say they must retire, but the player should, and the club feels they should. I don’t think that should count in the cap. You would need to make sure people don’t game the system, but I don’t think clubs would (do that). If players are genuinely retiring for concussion-related reasons, given the sensitivity, they should be paid and outside the cap. The best way to limit litigation is to look after people. It’s the right thing to do.”
Collingwood defender Nathan Murphy is considering his future in football, despite being given permission to play-on by the AFL, although his deal only extends to 2024.
Magpies coach Craig McRae said this week Murphy was working through a gradual integration to some contact drills, which could take five or six weeks. The Pies are determined to help Murphy make a responsible and safe decision, which included the premiership defender having more brain scans in the wake of Brayshaw’s medical retirement.
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Originally published as Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham calls for all concussion retirees’ wages to be exempt from salary cap
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