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Code Sports survey: AFL player agents reveal the biggest issues around player welfare

Matthew Forrest

2 min read·6 minutes ago

News Sport Network

In a survey filled out by footy’s biggest player agents, the number one issue plaguing the stars of the AFL can be revealed, as managers voice their concerns for the future of their clients after leaving the game.

Problem gambling is an issue for AFL players according to their managers, as a Code Sports survey revealed enough is not being done to set players up for life after football.

In an anonymous survey of some of football’s biggest player agents, 76.5 per cent said that gambling was a problem for players.

When asked ‘what is the most difficult issue you’ve had to deal with for a client?’ one manager said the “gambling ease through apps” was a major factor.

52.9 per cent said drug use was an issue.

The responses spoke to concerns about players when they left the game, with “life after football” and “life balance” labelled a big issue for players.

While some clubs encourage players to find a non-football passion – St Kilda has required all of its players this year to study or work away from the club – managers held doubts their clients would handle the outside world after retirement.

The player agents also lifted the lid on the hardest issues they’ve had to manage with “untrue accusations regarding player relationships” and “drug exposure/covid vaccination” some of the responses.

One manager said he had avoided any major issues with players due to their “no dickheads policy”.

“If I’m honest, I haven’t had any,” the manager said.

I have a no dickheads policy; I don’t care how good they are if they are a f***wit.”

When asked if clubs were doing enough to help players get ready for life post-football, 64.7 per cent said no.

And 82.4 per cent said not enough was being done to support player welfare, including mental health and concussion education.

But the agents said the AFL Players Association was working to help footballers, with 58.8 per cent of responses giving the AFLPA an effectiveness score of at least seven out of 10.

When asked for examples of the big concerns for agents, responses included “lack of balance in their lives”, “the pressure to perform”, having “a lot of money at a young age”, “public scrutiny and expectations” and “life after football”.

An AFLPA survey of players revealed that 14 per cent of players who experienced concussion in 2024 did not report their symptoms.

In the Code Sports agents survey, 41.2 per cent of agents knew of players hiding concussion.

When asked to reveal the most quirky and unusual requests from players, the agents had a host of stories to tell including one who had a player ask them “how to turn on their pool pump?

One said they had to make “phone calls to ‘fans’ who have become a bit too obsessive”, another said to “look after a dog” and one agent revealed they organised DNA testing on a pregnant woman who “alleged to be carrying a client’s baby which actually was a fake pregnancy.”