Clubs believe the Australian Football League "is set to lift the salary cap at each club" by an estimated A$1.3M ($993,000) and "have begun renegotiating player contracts" allowing for a 10% increase in the '17 total player payments, according to Caroline Wilson of THE AGE. AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan told club CEOs at their recent two-day meeting to "budget for a player wage increase" in '17 of between 8-11%. While McLachlan did not give an outline for the TPP beyond next season, "most clubs believe the increase" in '18 would fall to about 3% with that figure to fall to 2% in '19. But that offer "is set to be rejected by the players who remain steadfast in their push for a set percentage of the game's revenue" and who believe a 10% uplift remains a wage decrease in real terms. The players' view is that the AFL "is offering them materially less than the game's overall revenue increase." Talks are "set to resume" on Thursday. The two bodies "remain significantly apart in terms of the next collective bargaining agreement." McLachlan has made it clear to the clubs "he would not contemplate working in an official financial partnership" with the players and handing them a fixed percentage of the game's revenue after achieving the new six-year, A$2.5B ($1.9B) broadcast deal (THE AGE, 8/17).
