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AFL to get free-agency system

By Mr Dandalooa

The AFL has taken another step towards moulding the league into a massive corporate enterprise by a planned introduction of a free-agency system by 2012.

Having free-agents in the league will significantly change the way players can move between clubs, with those having more than 8 year’s experience at one club eligible to put themselves on the market to the highest bidder.

But some in the AFL have already sounded alarm bells, saying the system, similar to what exists in the NFL or NBA, will be a destructive force in the league.

The AFL and the players association announced the agreement in a joint press conference yesterday afternoon.

Currently, the AFL drafts and trade period are the only ways a player can move between clubs which restricts the ability of a player to reach the club of their choice.

AFL boss Andrew Demetriou said allowing a more fluid movement of players between clubs highlighted how much Aussie Rules has evolved over the years.

FootyGoss believes that under the new trading regime, uncontracted players with more than eight years of playing service will be able to shift to their desired destination, ultimately for the right price.

But the timeframe of the years of service was a compromise, with AFL clubs requesting a 10-year timeframe, but the AFL players’ association (AFLPA) wanted 7 years.

Some players even wanted the stipulated years of service to be as little as 5 years.

The AFL’s footy operations head honcho Adrian Anderson said while there were aspects to the free-agency system yet to be finalised, the new regime would be a boon for the league and for players.

He said players would be afforded greater playing opportunities and be awarded more lucrative contracts in the free-agency system.

Sydney coach Paul Roos reckons having watched free-agency exist in the US sporting system, he remained concerned that the system would simply bulge the already huge pay packets of the league’s stars, while middle-tiered or lesser ranked players would struggle to survive.

It’s understood that AFL clubs that lose players to the scheme will be compensated with national draft picks, under a formula that takes into account the player’s salary, age, playing record and position they were initially drafted.

The free-agency policy has long been on the agenda of the AFLPA and is set to come into effect after incoming AFL clubs Gold Coast, in 2011, and western Sydney, in 2012 are established.

It’s understood both clubs have been granted a temporary form of free agency.

But there remain pros and cons to the free-agency scheme.

Of course seismic shifts are being projected in the finances of clubs and star players alike, which will ultimately corrode any development of loyalty.

If the price is right, a star player who can get double his salary and even perhaps a chance at a premiership too, will no doubt seize the opportunity and move on.

Players may feel they will be better able to cope in this landscape and clubs too, but what happens if a club puts all its eggs in one basket on spending big on a player who doesn’t deliver?

There’s also the potential for the tall-poppy syndrome to shake the foundation of camaraderie at a club when a “superstar” is recruited to the mix.

Stay tuned as this is a massive development in the world of Aussie Rules.