The drain of Australian Football League cash to Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast is "not only taking its toll on other financially struggling clubs, but could delay or even prevent" the early buyout of Etihad Stadium, according to Denham & Smith of THE AUSTRALIAN. Central to the financial stability of the league and its clubs is the AFL's Future Fund, which the league values at A$89.4M ($69M), but has "never held more than its current cash value" of A$63M ($48.6M). The cash amount is "less than some clubs believed it was." They say "that is, in part, because of the massive additional funding to both the Giants and Suns." Up to eight clubs have forecast losses for '15 with the competition carrying combined club debts of a record A$91.5M ($70.6M). AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said that the decision to put second teams into Queensland and NSW was "proving to be more demanding than expected." McLachlan: "They are proving more expensive than our broad forecasts suggested." However, he said that the league's initial budget of A$200M ($154.3M) over five years to establish the clubs would be close to being "on the money." McLachlan "also stressed that the financial wellbeing of all 18 clubs was an AFL priority." The early purchase of Etihad Stadium by the league "is viewed by tenant clubs as being vital to their long-term existence due to their poor current deals with the privately owned venue." The AFL would have been "better placed to purchase the stadium outright" before it takes ownership for "virtually nothing" in '25, if the ultimate aim of being debt-free and having A$100M ($77M) in its Future Fund by next year was met. McLachlan said that the acquisition of Etihad "was not in any way dependent on the Future Fund." The Future Fund is currently A$37M ($28.5M) short of its projection, and could be "further adrift owing to the financial instability of the clubs" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 6/25).
FIGHT FOR CASH: In Melbourne, Samantha Lane reported AFL players are "willing to use fundamental planks of the competition -- the salary cap and draft -- as bargaining chips to win a percentage share of the code's revenue." With a "clear mandate to fight for what would be profound change in the AFL's financial set-up," AFL Players Association CEO Paul Marsh said that this is a "now or never" issue in forthcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations. Marsh believes top AFL players are "comparatively underpaid." He is convinced footballers deserve more financial "skin in the game" and, at the direction of the AFLPA's board and delegates, is "prepared to pull some major cards to win the percentage cut." Marsh: "There are restraints that we agree to in the current CBA that a normal worker wouldn't agree to: draft, salary cap, commercial restrictions, these sorts of things." Asked whether players would "refuse to continue supporting the draft and salary cap in order to win a percentage share of the AFL's revenue," Marsh responded, "We don't want to get to that point. We want to have a constructive negotiation." The average salary of an AFL player is A$250,000 ($392,300) and, for the past five seasons, the "average career of a player is around six years, according to AFLPA data" (THE AGE, 6/24).
