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Clubs allowed to ‘salary dump’ in a major change to AFL trade rules
The AFL has made a major shift in player trading this year, officially allowing clubs to “salary dump”, or trade out players on big contracts for minimal draft return.
Such deals would previously have been blocked by the AFL. The change will allow clubs to more easily get a player’s contract off their books to ease the strain on their salary caps.
The AFL is in the process of informing all clubs of the change in policy which will see clubs able to trade out players on large contracts for minimal draft pick return as long as the other clubs takes over the player’s contract.
Clubs also have the option to do things like bundling an attractive early draft pick with a highly paid player in a trade for just a lowly pick as a way of getting the player’s salary off the books.
As one AFL club recruiter put it: there would barely be an AFL club that isn’t paying a portion of the salary of a former player to play at another club.
Collingwood orchestrated the most famous salary dump under existing AFL rules, in the trade period fire sale at the end of 2020 that saw senior player Adam Treloar traded to the Western Bulldogs for a relatively insufficient draft pick and Collingwood contributing a portion of his salary, and Jaidyn Stephenson traded to North.
The change will allow clubs with a large amount of salary cap space but few draft picks - North Melbourne this year, for example - to use their salary cap space as a tool to effectively buy themselves a draft pick. That is, to get a good draft pick you have to take the expensive player.
The AFL would previously have seen this as an unfair trade and blocked it, but now recognise the value to clubs in getting a player’s salary off the books.
The AFL’s changes acknowledge that how clubs manage their salary cap is as important to their chances of success on the field as trading in players or getting high draft picks.
The effect will be that clubs will have greater flexibility to trade players who are on big contracts and not forced to take years to try to address salary cap problems.
Gold Coast has midfielder Brayden Fiorini on a significant contract next year, but he has been squeezed out of the Suns’ young and talented midfield. He has had discussions with several clubs, including Collingwood, about a move and could be available in exchange for an insignificant draft pick, provided the recipient club takes over his contract.
Players are often eager to leave clubs once they find themselves out of favour in a developing team or once new players come in and are preferred ahead of them - Tom Mitchell at Hawthorn for instance - but find the options to move blocked because clubs will not give up quality picks to get players on big money deals.
In these cases, the new club would most likely renegotiate new contract terms for the player, spreading the contract payment out over a longer period.
The AFL has made a major shift in player trading this year, officially allowing clubs to “salary dump”, or trade out players on big contracts for minimal draft return.
Such deals would previously have been blocked by the AFL. The change will allow clubs to more easily get a player’s contract off their books to ease the strain on their salary caps.
The AFL is in the process of informing all clubs of the change in policy which will see clubs able to trade out players on large contracts for minimal draft pick return as long as the other clubs takes over the player’s contract.
Clubs also have the option to do things like bundling an attractive early draft pick with a highly paid player in a trade for just a lowly pick as a way of getting the player’s salary off the books.
As one AFL club recruiter put it: there would barely be an AFL club that isn’t paying a portion of the salary of a former player to play at another club.
Collingwood orchestrated the most famous salary dump under existing AFL rules, in the trade period fire sale at the end of 2020 that saw senior player Adam Treloar traded to the Western Bulldogs for a relatively insufficient draft pick and Collingwood contributing a portion of his salary, and Jaidyn Stephenson traded to North.
The change will allow clubs with a large amount of salary cap space but few draft picks - North Melbourne this year, for example - to use their salary cap space as a tool to effectively buy themselves a draft pick. That is, to get a good draft pick you have to take the expensive player.
The AFL would previously have seen this as an unfair trade and blocked it, but now recognise the value to clubs in getting a player’s salary off the books.
The AFL’s changes acknowledge that how clubs manage their salary cap is as important to their chances of success on the field as trading in players or getting high draft picks.
The effect will be that clubs will have greater flexibility to trade players who are on big contracts and not forced to take years to try to address salary cap problems.
Gold Coast has midfielder Brayden Fiorini on a significant contract next year, but he has been squeezed out of the Suns’ young and talented midfield. He has had discussions with several clubs, including Collingwood, about a move and could be available in exchange for an insignificant draft pick, provided the recipient club takes over his contract.
Players are often eager to leave clubs once they find themselves out of favour in a developing team or once new players come in and are preferred ahead of them - Tom Mitchell at Hawthorn for instance - but find the options to move blocked because clubs will not give up quality picks to get players on big money deals.
In these cases, the new club would most likely renegotiate new contract terms for the player, spreading the contract payment out over a longer period.
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