Pay deal reachedBy Mark Macgugan
2:00 PM Thu 15 Dec, 2011THE AFL has stuck to its guns on its $1.144 billion, five-year pay offer to players, but has agreed to a review after three years.
After 18 months of negotiations, the League and the AFLPA finally signed off on a new collective bargaining agreement on Thursday.
Under the new agreement, the average player's wage will rise to more than $300,000 by 2016.
Rookies, the AFL's lowest-paid players with a minimum wage of just $35,000 in 2011, are big winners in the deal.
They'll receive a pay rise of 17 per cent next year, 19 per cent the year following and nine per cent in 2014, taking their yearly earnings to almost $54,000 plus match payments.
The League has also agreed to a $90 million retirement scheme, which will see players receive around $20,000 per year during life after football.
The review of terms will take place during 2014, and will apply to the last two years of the deal.
If an agreement can't be reached during that review, The AFL will make a penalty payment to the AFLPA of between $3 million and $10 million, depending on its financial performance over the next three years.
Other key components of the new CBA are:
* Star players who promote the game and their clubs will receive extra payments.
* Clubs will be required to pay a minimum 95 per cent of the salary cap, up from the current 92.5 per cent.
* All clubs must employ a full-time player development manager, and schedule four hours per week for players' professional and personal development activities.
* Clubs must schedule a fixed day off for players between Monday and Friday each week, with four exceptions for scheduling.
* Players will be entitled to a minimum six-week uninterrupted block of annual leave after the end of each season.
* Expanded past player hardship fund of $250,000 per year.
* Abolishment of the veterans' list, with primary lists extended from 38 to 40.
* Players assign the non-exclusive right to use their image on the AFL-Telstra network.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/127273/default.aspx