The Australian Football League Players' Association "has pleaded with a Supreme Court judge not to release confidential details" of players' contracts and lucrative endorsement deals, according to Mark Russell of THE AGE. AFLPA lawyer Brett Murphy told Justice Michael Sifris on Thursday that the information was "commercially sensitive and the AFL, the union and the players all believed it should be protected." The information about players' contracts is contained in statements tendered to the court during a "bitter civil trial" involving Strategic Management Australia AFL Owner Jason Sourasis and his former business partner, Liam Pickering. Under the union's regulations, details of player contracts "are never publicly disclosed." Barrister Michael Osborne, for Pickering, said if the contract details were released "they might impact adversely on player agents' relationship with footballers and their ability to sign new players." Osborne said that player agents "owed an obligation to players to keep their salaries confidential." Sifris said he would make a decision on whether to release the players' contract information on Monday (THE AGE, 12/10).
