How free agency will work

[The Coon Dog]

From the AFL Website.

This comes in after the 2012 season has been completed.


1. A player has served seven seasons or less of AFL football at one club, and is now out of contract.

The player is not eligible for free agency if his club wishes to retain him. He may only move clubs via a trade or the Draft. If he delists himself, he is subject to the Draft, and may be selected by any club.



2. A player has served seven seasons or less of AFL football at one club, and has been delisted by his club.

The player is a Free Agent and is eligible to field offers from all rival AFL clubs.

The player must decide on the best offer of his choice from one rival club.

The player can move AUTOMATICALLY to the new club of his choice.

His original club, which chose to delist him, does not receive any compensation pick for the loss of the player.



3. A player has served eight or more seasons of AFL football at one club, is one of the 10 highest-paid players at his club, and is now out of contract for the first time since reaching eight seasons of service.

The player is eligible to field offers from all rival AFL clubs.

If he wishes to change clubs, the player must decide on the best offer of his choice from one rival club.

His club has the right to match the presented offer.

If the club matches the offer, he may choose to remain with his original club, seek a trade or enter the Draft.

If the club does not or can not match the offer, the player can move to the new club of his choice.

His original club will receive a compensation pick for the loss of the player, on an AFL-determined formula to apply where clubs lose more free agents than they gain in any single transfer period.



4. A player has served eight or more seasons of AFL football at one club, is NOT one of the 10 highest-paid players at his club, and is now out of contract for the first time since reaching eight seasons of service.

The player is eligible to field offers from all rival AFL clubs.

If he wishes to change clubs, the player must decide on the best offer of his choice from one rival club.

His club does NOT have the right to match the presented offer, and the player can move AUTOMATICALLY to the new club of his choice.

His original club will receive a compensation pick for the loss of the player, on an AFL-determined formula.



5. A player has served ten or more seasons of AFL football at one club, has already come out of contract once in the period after serving his first eight or more seasons at his club, and is now out of contract.

The player is eligible to field offers from all rival clubs.

If he wishes to change clubs, the player must decide on the best offer of his choice from one rival club.

His club does NOT have the right to match the presented offer, and the player can move AUTOMATICALLY to the new club of his choice.

His original club will receive a compensation pick for the loss of the player, on an AFL-determined formula.

Link

[Sockeye Salmon]

Re: How free agency will work

I see Luke Ball put a 2-year $900K price tag on his head for the last draft and then signed on for a 3rd year at $100K once collingwood picked him up.

This system won't get manipulated much.



What happens when Tom Williams finally has his massive breakout year in 2012? He certainly won't be one of the ten highest paid players in the club so he will be free to walk anywhere without us being able to match it. he could simply walk to Carlton for a minimum amount to get inside the salary cap and pick up the rest of his money from Visy as an environmental ambassador.


It's a stupid, stupid system that will ensure we return to the bad old days of the 70's and we will lose one player after another.


This will send our club back to the days of fighting for survival until the AFL is back to 16 teams.

[azabob]

Re: How free agency will work

Fantasitc, another AFL determined formula - Cause the current on is fair and just...

[LostDoggy]

Re: How free agency will work

Free Agency is to Sockeye what a burqa is to a French policeman.

[LostDoggy]

Re: How free agency will work

At the end of the day, for a rival club to offer whatever they offer, the player has to be worth it in the first place.

All the AFL needs to do to ensure free agency works is to clamp down hard on third-party contracts.

[Desipura]

Re: How free agency will work

I see Luke Ball put a 2-year $900K price tag on his head for the last draft and then signed on for a 3rd year at $100K once collingwood picked him up.

This system won't get manipulated much.



What happens when Tom Williams finally has his massive breakout year in 2012? He certainly won't be one of the ten highest paid players in the club so he will be free to walk anywhere without us being able to match it. he could simply walk to Carlton for a minimum amount to get inside the salary cap and pick up the rest of his money from Visy as an environmental ambassador.


It's a stupid, stupid system that will ensure we return to the bad old days of the 70's and we will lose one player after another.


This will send our club back to the days of fighting for survival until the AFL is back to 16 teams.

Extremists view^^^^^^^^. If you have very good culture and are successful on the field and have great facilities, it will be harder to leave.

[Maddog37]

Re: How free agency will work

Swings and merrygorounds.

[FrediKanoute]

Re: How free agency will work

I'm with Sockeye. Free agency serves no purpose other than to line the pockets of players and their agents. It is open to abuse and having seen the compensation system applied for the GC and GWS entries it is apparent that it is arbitrary and flawed and does not take into account potential.

The AFL has already shown that it can't control payments through the salary cap and this will simply incentivise clubs to become even more creative in their attempts to gather together a stable of players. Clubs like Collingwood, Adelaide, WCE and Essendon are simply going to dominate the game, in much the same way that teams like BArcelona, Real MAdrid, Man Spew, Chelski etc dominate their leagues.

[LostDoggy]

Re: How free agency will work

I don't think Free Agency was driven solely by the AFL but by the AFLPA. The player want this. Most professional leagues in the world have free agency. It has always been something we would have to inevitably deal with.

[FrediKanoute]

Re: How free agency will work

I don't think Free Agency was driven solely by the AFL but by the AFLPA. The player want this. Most professional leagues in the world have free agency. It has always been something we would have to inevitably deal with.

I agree that the AFL didn't want this and that the AFLPA are behind the push. This is the problem. What free agency promotes is the interests of the individual as opposed to the sport. Putting more money into the game does correlate to a better game/higher skills, but that is only to a point. Do we honestly think that guys like Judd or Ablett or Cooney are going to perform better if we are paying them an extra $500k? an extra $1,000k?

I know there is an arguement that the AFL wanted to avoid a confrontation whereby the draft/salary cap was declared illegal under the Trade Practices Act, but I'm not sure what's worse, having rules which only the poorer clubs play by, or having no rules at all?

As for the guidelines whcih the AFL has brought in 7 years is about as long as Adam Cooney has been at the club......ok we'd get some decent compensation for Adam if he left, but nowhere near what he is worth to us as a player.

[Hotdog60]

Re: How free agency will work

Poorer clubs will become the training grounds for the rich clubs to prosper.
Next step will be a 2 tier competition.

[The Coon Dog]

Re: How free agency will work

Get ready for 4-week free-for-all

Michael Warner & Jon Ralph - Herald Sun - 15 October

FOOTY'S week-long meat market will become a marathon month under free agency, with all of October to be set aside for player movement next year.

At a time when clubs are calling on the league to shorten the protracted trade period, free agency will see the annual sanctioned test of player loyalty drag out to 26 days.

The frenzy will begin on October 1 - less than 48 hours after the Grand Final - when clubs will be free to lodge offers with free agents playing for rival sides.

According to an AFL document distributed to clubs and seen by the Herald Sun, the player exchange period will start the next week, running from October 8-26.

Under the rules of free agency, players with eight years of service can be poached by any rival club.

Article in full...

[KT31]

Re: How free agency will work

What happens when Tom Williams finallyhas his massive breakout year in 2012? He
.

FINALLY, I wish.
You have been saying this for a few years, based on his out put ands injuries it will all be taken on merritt.
If some club want's to pay over odds for Williasms good luck to them.
But if he has any heart he will stick with us, because we have installed all in him.
Yeh have little faith SS.
We are not an underling side anymore.

[anfo27]

Re: How free agency will work

I hope the club doesn't view free agency like some of the posters here. We have too much of a defeatest attitude, too much of a poor us outlook. We need to figure out how we can thrive in this environment instead of being negative and thinking this is the beginning of the end.
One example would be the Tampa Bay Rays who have to compete with the Yankees & Red Sox in their division. The Yankees & Red Sox have a payroll thats $160 & $120 million more than the Rays but the Rays still make the play offs. The Rays lose very good players to free agency just about every year and still make the play offs. It can be done but you just have to be smarter about how you operate.

[KT31]

Re: How free agency will work

I hope the club doesn't view free agency like some of the posters here. We have too much of a defeatest attitude, too much of a poor us outlook. We need to figure out how we can thrive in this environment instead of being negative and thinking this is the beginning of the end.
One example would be the Tampa Bay Rays who have to compete with the Yankees & Red Sox in their division. The Yankees & Red Sox have a payroll thats $160 & $120 million more than the Rays but the Rays still make the play offs. The Rays lose very good players to free agency just about every year and still make the play offs. It can be done but you just have to be smarter about how you operate.

I agree., we reguard ourselves as the underdogs ( one reason I think we have struggled to win a flag).
Time to get on the front foot ,attack and make the best of it.
And if we fail we tried our guts out.
After all SS, its the team that makes the most runs that wins not the team who bats longest.