AFL is considering an NBA Cup-like secondary tournament to run in season (Fox)

[one-eyed]

The AFL Cup? $5m prize, finals place and Buddy return floated in NBA-style tournament plot

Ben Cotton
Fox Sports
July 7th, 2025

There’s been talk of the AFL adopting US-sport inspired concepts like a wildcard round and conferences.

And now the AFL is considering introducing an NBA Cup-like secondary tournament to run in season as part of a focus around “creating more content and marquee moments” across the fixture.

The proposal would see the in-season tournament potentially introduced when Tasmania is slated to enter the AFL in 2028. It could result in $5 million in prize money to the winning team and potentially even a guaranteed spot in the finals.

It’d result in significant changes to the regular fixture and reduce the number of rounds, with teams to only play each other once plus rivalry round and Gather Round. The in-season tournament would then make up for the leftover games to marry up with the current setup.

While games in the NBA’s in-season tournament count towards the regular season, the AFL’s concept would be completely separate to the home and away campaign, with two options for when games would be played.

They’d either run simultaneously with the premiership season, with matches to be played every four to six weeks. Or the season could be paused for around a month in the middle of the campaign to open up a slot.

It’s believed the concept has received support from the majority of clubs and is being looked into by a subcommittee of CEOs.

One idea floated among club CEOs was the potential for the teams to recruit state league players or recently retired champions like Dustin Martin and Lance Franklin.

AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon confirmed the concept was under consideration.

The NBA Cup was first introduced in 2023, with a focus on creating more excitement in season and to all fan bases more engaged for longer.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2025-afl-considering-inseason-tournament-nba-cup-afl-chief-executives-meeting-on-gold-coast-details-concept-latest-news/news-story/6f2668225d422f7cc31a6b3ea90840ca