Why footy needs a genuine 2nd Tier
This is a slight change from the normal discussion points on physical development to a topic looking at the state of the game at large – at the 2nd tier of football. This does in fact link in closely with physical development, and another discussion that we will have in regards to raising the draft age as well, so we thought it was worth putting some thoughts down. Some of it may seem fantasy, especially given where we are currently at, but it is still a discussion worth having, as we must strive to remember, that there is more to the sport that just the very top in the AFL, or the absolute grassroots. That part in the middle is the forgotten area of the game, and it is the most important n terms of providing the next generation for the top flight, as well as giving everyone else something else to aspire to as well. So lets take a look at what we are talking about.
A discussion that has been raging in Adelaide – particularly over the last 4 years since the 2 AFL reserves teams entered the state league – has been the relevance of the SANFL. Once a mighty league to almost rival the VFL, it has since been hidden beneath the shadow of the mighty AFL. And there is nothing wrong with this – the AFL is the big league, and the state leagues will forever play second fiddle to feeding the AFL. However, these second tier state leagues could be so much more than what they currently are - in the eyes of the general public, as well as in their actual output - because at the moment they are struggling. Much is discussed about what can be done to help the SANFL gain more traction again (and I’m sure discussions are similar in regards to the WAFL, and probably to a lesser extent the VFL.) However, what it all boils down to is money. It is just as well then that the AFL has plenty of it – and as the gatekeeper of the sport – its interests are best served by helping out this second tier.
I will just straight out jump to what I feel would be an ideal solution (albeit an expensive and initially unrealistic one) – and that is that non-AFL affiliated clubs in the 2nd tier leagues (SANFL/WAFL/VFL) - which in the SANFL would be 8 clubs – should have their entire player payment outlay underwritten by the AFL. That’s right, the AFL should fund the 2nd tier player payments (as they do effectively do in the AFL). Not only that, they should rise gradually from the $400,000 per year per club that the salary cap currently is (in the SANFL anyway) to $2-2.5 million a year. Ridiculous right? Hmmmmmm debatable. Realistic though? To be honest, unlikely unless the AFL sees the genuine merit in it. But let’s delve a little deeper into this discussion point and the reason for it.
So why exactly?
The state leagues (certainly the SANFL, VFL & WAFL) are a very high standard of footy, certainly much higher than the ‘its AFL or its nothing’ attitude that the leagues are so dismissively met with from many fans today. The training commitments are very high, the standard is high, the physical toll on the bodies is high, yet the compensation is low. The highest paid players in the SANFL would be on in the vicinity of $30-35,000 per year – and these guys are the stars who dominate – that perhaps were AFL players and were cut, or who never quite got the chance as an 18 year old, but who have gone on to be very good players. This is in stark contrast to an 18 year old who has proven nothing, yet is drafted onto an AFL list and has a guaranteed minimum of $65,000 even if the don’t play a game. Yes this is the system, and there will always be things that seem out of kilter like this, however this big drop off in compensation once falling outside the AFL is hurting the sport – not only at state league level, but also at AFL level.
One of the real struggles that state league clubs face is good players being lost to country and amateur league clubs who can offer them more money, or money that is at least on par, but with no-where near the commitment levels or physical toll on the body. What we are left with is a league that is still a very good standard, but one which would be a hell of a lot higher with more players being enticed to hang around and battle the commitments, due to the potential financial rewards to go along with the commitments. With such a setup in place, with far better financial compensation, not only would you have far less players leaving for country and amateur dollars, but you would also have more guys coming out of the woodwork – talented country footballers for example – to try their luck in the state league, and the financial compensation as a result of their ability – as well as the potential of finding themselves on an AFL list one day as a result. Over time, what you end up with is a league that has far more high quality players that would otherwise have remained anonymous. And for the AFL, what you have is a genuine 2nd tier, where the drop off is no-where near as steep (in compensation, professionalism or standard). Lets expand a little more.
‘But its too expensive though!’
Of course everything costs money – the women’s league included – running and funding an entire sport is something that is very challenging – even for a behemoth like the AFL with its $2 billon + TV deal. This is a point that I feel is often lost on the players at the elite level. Whilst they certainly deserve their share (an average salary of 320k is very good in anyone’s language it has to be said though, and remember this ‘average is also brought down by the first and second year blokes earning ‘only’ 70-80k as teenagers,) what needs to be taken into consideration is the state of the whole sport and the costs of running the game, rather than just the revenue alone.
The AFLPA often points to the ‘set percentage of revenue’ model of the NBA, however what is often lost in this discussion is that in the USA, there is the elite level, then there is college, and then beyond that very little. Additionally, the sub-elite level of sports like basketball in the USA, which is college level, are very well self funded – as a result of being linked to the wealthy colleges themselves. As a result, their programs don’t require ‘grassroots funding’ from the big league as we do here. This is not meant to be a debate about player income – indeed they deserve to be very well paid – anyone who is amongst the best few hundred at what they do should be (although tell that to the poor guy ranked 120 in the world in tennis, staying in budget hotels and earning less than 100k per year after you take out all his expenses.) It is just that ‘% of revenue’ only makes so much sense – after all, revenue only takes into account the $ coming in but what about $ going out? So back to the discussion at hand.
As mentioned, this rise to a $2 million - $2.5 million total player payment per club wouldn’t be an overnight change either. It would require a gradual build too – probably over a decade, raising by say $250,000 per year, each year for 10 years. By this stage the average AFL wage will be approaching $500,000 a year, potentially more – or in other words, $20 million per club. Put in this context, $2 million or $2.5 million per club may not look quite so extreme for a 2nd tier competition – but in fact, may look like more of a necessity. The primary reason it will be a necessity – if it isn’t already – is that the 2nd tier state competitions shouldn’t be such a drop in professionalism or compensation from the elite level – because this effects the elite level as much as anything else.
The 2018 SANFL Grand Final attracted 40,000 spectators. Unfortunately, regular season matches for what is still a very high level of footy, with some outstanding players who belong on AFL lists, are below 2,000
It is in both the AFL’s interests, as well as the state leagues interests
So why should the AFL fund something that will essentially cost them $12 million a year, and potentially progess upwards of $40 million a year in a decades time? On top of all the other drains on their finances? Some people out there will rightly point out that the money belongs to the entire sport, rather than just the elite level, and as such, needs to be distributed to continue to make the game sustainable at all levels. And this is true – and already a very good reason. But a $40 million per year reason? Probably not quite. So we can do better than that. Lets elaborate.
In a nutshell, the AFL itself, as a league, will become a far better product, quality wise, and over time, equalisation wise, with a higher standard, and far better funded second tier. At the moment, we obviously have a second tier – but in terms of a genuine second tier, where all the best players outside the AFL are there, and are given the best possible chance to get the most out of themselves – we don’t have one.
As we touched on earlier, under the current setup, what we end up with is a system where the pathway is that you make it (to the AFL) at 18 or 19, or to a far lesser extent at 21, or you miss out and that’s it. And then if you love the game, want to get the most out of yourself for very little compensation, you still battle on at the next best level – the state comps. What we ideally want to have is a genuine 2nd tier – where the majority of the best players outside the AFL are playing in them. (Especially with AFL reserve teams being the hot debate here in Adelaide at the moment – if you had a team of AFL reserves, playing against a 2nd tier club with a total player payment of $2.2-2.5 million, the angst against such reserves teams wouldn’t be quite as high.)
With the extra dollars on offer financially, we would have a hell of a lot more guys who are enticed back from the country, as well as a lot of young players who may miss their chance in the draft as a teenager, yet can still endeavor to become a very good, and very well compensated player at the state level – whilst also keeping genuine hopes alive of one day going up another rung to the AFL. With a much bigger salary cap, of course the wage distribution would be at the discretion of each individual club, but provided clubs aren’t spending huge money on 1 or 2 players (which can be policed by potentially having a maximum wage of some sort – maybe capped at $150,000,) what you will effectively have is a team where as many as 8 guys are earning 6 figure incomes, and can realistically be full time players (if they choose), as well as having a second group of another 8-10 players who are also well compensated to the point where they can be almost full time players, due to the extent of their payments. In other words, not only does such extra money mean that the competition for spots becomes a lot higher as there are far greater enticements, but the professionalism amongst the players (in terms of looking after their bodies, their eating and lifestyle habits, etc) will also increase as a result of
- This greater competition for spots
- The increased time on their hands that they have, due to the financial compensation from playing, meaning that many of them don’t need to work a full time job in addition to playing footy. (They may still choose to of course.) Of course this will also include more time for rest and recovery methods.
The 2018 WAFL Grand Final won yet again by WA's dominant state level club Subiaco, attracted 25,000 spectators - well below the crowd in SA, however with the West Coast playing a preliminary final the same weekend, not a bad crowd. With the premiership winning coach Jarrod Schofield winning an AFL contract at port Adelaide as an assistant coach following success - how many of these high-level players will win a contract? Not enough of them.
Right this is great, but what exactly are the benefits to the AFL?
A genuine and more professional second tier means far more ready made 21-25 year olds (which ties in with another discussion on raising the draft age), who can step straight on to a list, and into an AFL sides best 22, and make an instant impact. That is not to say that a 22 year old center half forward who has really had a breakout year in the WAFL will get picked up out of the WAFL and turn the Gold Coast Suns into Richmond or West Coast – not even Gary Ablett has been able to do that – but what it does provide is far more draftees coming into the system ready made, and ready to at least move into a teams best 22. In other words, more guys being drafted for the next year or 2, not for being groomed to eventually have a reasonable impact in 4 or 5 years time. Because as the statistics show, once you get outside the top 15-20 picks in the draft, the success rate of the teenagers picked up drops right off – and even when they do make an impact, it is normally not for a number of years. This ties in very closely with another discussion we had about the age that most draftees are – and how other sports have cottoned on to the relative ineffectiveness of drafting guys fresh out of high school – which is almost exclusively what AFL clubs do.
A well paying 2nd tier of state competitions, with a far greater majority of the best players outside the AFL competing, with more guys dedicated on a more closer to full time basis, will over time result in far more confidence from the elite clubs in drafting in mature age players (21-25) who are ready to go – both from an ability point of view, but also a professionalism point of view, in how they go about their bodies and their footy. Again, I must emphasise, to be realistic, this is a gradual evolution – it must occur over time, bit by bit – gradually increasing salary caps (albeit in quite large increments), and gradually increasing numbers of better players and professionalism from certain individuals.) Simply enacting it in one year and going to each club and saying ‘here is $2.5 million, go for your life’ would be an absolute disaster. But a closely policed progression (where the recruiting and accounting books are policed just as they are at AFL level) would be the way to approach it.
A further spin off from this, is that given the ready-made age and abilities of the players come in, we could expect to see more clubs drafting for the next year or 2, rather than the constant cycle of ‘rebuilding/resetting’ and ‘5 year projects/build ups’ and drafting exclusively teenagers. Because as the success rate of the draft shows, once outside the first 20 odd picks where the absolute cream of the best young players lie, the draft picks are very hit and miss. As a supporter, it is also very hard to get enthusiastic about 3 or 4 18 year olds coming into your club, who may or may not make a genuine impact in 5 or 6 years time. Not only that, but by the time they are old enough to make an impact, free agency may see them at another club anyway. So a 2nd tier of high quality should hypothetically give more clubs the ability to draft in more ready made players, who are ready to make an instant impact due to age and maturity.
Just a brief diversion to other sports
It is important to not underestimate the damage that having such a big drop from elite AFL – to the sports 2nd tier – is having for the sport – and it is why there are often so many scribes questioning the ‘depth of talent’ (or lack of it apparently) – which is downright ridiculous for a sport supposedly the most popular in the country, with well established second tier leagues who have been around for over a century.
It wouldn’t be an opinion peace without a quick look at some other sports for some context on what we are saying.
In the AFL, we are unique in the sense that we have a ‘closed league.’ That is, you are either in or you aren’t, with no possibility for admission – there is no relegation or promotion like in other sports around the world – most notably the biggest sport in the world, soccer. Just as the situation is with professional sport in the USA, we have a professional league, closed off to the outside, and with salary caps and drafts designed to keep the playing field as level as possible, rather than letting natural market forces decide the weak and the strong. There are of course pro’s and con’s to each model – you only need to look at the constant disagreement within the soccer community in Australia regarding whether or not they should have a salary cap in the A-League (the A-League is in a very tough spot having a rule that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world outside Australia and the USA, whilst trying to keep good players in the league, yet maintain the competitive balance and equality that the Australian sports market is used to.) However this ‘closed-league’ nature of the AFL also has implications regarding the steep drop off outside the AFL.
When we look at the soccer world, and their open economy in each country, what we see are various divisions, where as you get lower and lower down, the standard obviously drops, but so too does the pay bracket. Not only that, but being an open economy with no salary cap, certain clubs within the same league will be paying their players a lot more overall than ‘lesser’ clubs within the same league. While I am not advocating a ‘no salary cap’ setup in the AFL for a second – in a closed league it is a necessity – the depth of talent and the efficiency of the player market if you like, at the lower levels, is far better than it is in our footy world. In short, the best players play at the biggest and wealthiest clubs, the next best play at the next biggest and wealthiest clubs – and so on and so forth.
Lets just forget about the players moving across international borders to different leagues, and the European Champions League and all the rest for a second, as this complicates the point we are trying to make here, and just focus for arguments sake on one country. Lets go with England, since it is probably the most well known here amongst readers. In England, we have the English Premier League as the elite level, followed by The Championship (2nd division) and then League One and League Two as the 3rd and 4th professional divisions – followed by even lower levels. At the upper echelon of the EPL, you have the big wealthy clubs – Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, etc, who have the most money, and as a result, attract all the best layers. As you progress lower down the EPL you will find clubs with less and less money (although by Australian soccer standards they are still very well cashed up), and as a result lesser players. Then go down to the next tier down in The Championship, the trend continues - progressively less money, and progressively lesser players and a lower standard to go with the decrease in pay. But, as you progress lower down the levels, there is no dramatic drop from full time professional to part time professional, but rather a gradual scale (admittedly there is a sharp rise up the very top of the EPL) in both pay and professionalism. So it isn’t a case of ‘you drop outside the EPL, and you fall off the earth completely and need to get another job along with being a soccer player.’ In other words, there is a lot more depth as a result – and most importantly, when a club wants to replace a certain player – they are not short of good ready-made options (within their pay budget of course.) It has to be said that there are less rules in soccer with bringing someone in – it is virtually a case of do whatever you like, you only need to make sure that it is done within the 2 ‘transfer windows.’
We are of course simplifying the soccer world to a one-country model – which in reality it isn’t of course – for arguments sake. But what we are identifying is the depth and quality in able replacements that exists from having a sliding scale from elite – to the next best levels, and gradually declining levels. Of course the open economy in soccer allows this – absolutely any club can be relegated and promoted through the grades, and this isn’t the case in footy. I am not advocating for it to be – but what I am doing is highlighting the benefit to quality and depth of players that exists as a result of having high quality lower divisions outside the top echelon – where you can still be a full time player – or at the very least very close to it – a very well paid semi-pro – outside the absolute elite. While we should never wish to replicate soccers open economy, we should look to replicate their depth – within the constraints that we face.
So what about leagues like the NEAFL and TFL?
A potentially pressing issue would be the salary caps afforded to clubs in 2nd tier competitions outside the established ‘Big-3’ football leagues, where the depth and standard level isn’t anywhere near as high (no disrespect intended here, but it is an undeniable reality, despite the vast improvements made.) Funding their player salaries would certainly be a requirement – but perhaps not to the same level of money, at least initially.
The total player payments afforded to each non-AFL affiliated club in the NEAFL, as well as the TFL, would be lower than that in the 3 big state leagues, however, over time, this could potentially even out. How exactly the ratio would be calculated could eventually be based on the number of draft picks that the various leagues are producing – but this is an issue that wouldn’t be a problem for the AFL number crunchers to figure out.
Alternatively, even if the NEAFL clubs were given the same total player payment pool, what you would likely end up with is certain players leaving the traditional football states to become higher paid players in Queensland or New South Wales, where they are a bigger and better player in comparison. Over time you build the quality of these non-traditional footy state local competitions, and over time, raise the standard that the younger players developing in these states are exposed to at this state level. So one way or the other, there shouldn’t be a problem with incorporating the non-traditional football leagues – as there are benefits all round, provided it is enacted carefully, step by step, and constantly monitored. One way or the other, if the AFL is committed, they will come with a solution, likely with much lower salary caps, at least initially.
Everything $ at the top – but what about the middle of that pyramid?
More and more resources are being concentrated at the top. The AFL love to crow saying how great they have grown the game – when really a lot of what they are doing is just redistributing the money at the top, and then giving a little back to the absolute grassroots, and largely ignoring the middle. It is like having more and more income being generated in an economy, however with the gap between the rich and the poor growing, and most of the increase in average earning occurring in the top 1-5% of earners, then the Government bragging about a ‘growing economy and average income increasing.’ Funny that sounds a lot like what we have. As they say, if Bill Gates walks into a bar, the ‘average’ net worth of the people in the bar is $100 million!
Just very quickly, this point not only applies to players, but also other professionals (or aspiring professionals) looking to ply their trade in the world of football – coaches, strength and conditioning staff, physios, etc.
“Fitness staff in the AFL are on big salaries now but often it is better (financially) working at MACCAS than doing fitness at a TAC club.”
Loris Bertolacci
Former Essendon & Geelong
Head of Fitness
Contrast this reality with our AFL with the American system, as well as European soccer – where there are a huge amount of full time well paying careers for professionals below the top tier. Full time junior coaches, strength and conditioning specialists, physios, performance coaches at all levels. Compare that to here - where the kids coming up a coached by part timers, and get their strength & conditioning by lowly paid – or not paid at all – part timers. This of course affects both parties – the underpaid and underappreciated professionals, as well as the developing juniors and 2nd tier players themselves. Even in the 2nd tier in the SANFL, 2 of the 8 clubs head coaches aren’t even full time! (I’m sure they would like to be – and their clubs would like them to be – but the money simply isn’t there.)
“I actually think that clubs get it the wrong way around. They get a senior coach and pay him a lot of money, whereas I believe it should be a bottom up approach as junior and youth-aged players need the best coaching.”
Peter Francis
Regional Manager
Gippsland Power
AFL Drills & Skills
This is something that could be covered in a lot more detail, so we will leave this point here. But this is just a further point that highlights the worrying drop off in all areas outside the AFL.
Is there really a lack of depth?
No! The reality is that there are plenty more players good enough or potential to be good enough, as long as they are provided with the motivation and the setup to show this ability, beyond the age of 18. The issue lays not with a lack of depth of talent – but with a floored system that is very much ‘do it at 18 or bust.’ Yes there are exceptions to the rule, but there could be so many more mature age pick-ups. There is too big a drop (in compensation and therefore professionalism) from the top tier to the second tier. With an improved and better funded second tier (AFL) many issues will be fixed, particularly the higher overall standard of both levels, but also the reduced wastage of young 18 year olds drafted and then spat out – as a second tier will have clubs much more comfortable drafting slightly older guys from it. It would require a gradual build – and funding player salaries to these second tier clubs, probably to the tune of 55 million/year may be beyond the AFL at the moment – but there is no reason why it cant be a gradual build in this regard over 10 years, just as the womens league will be.
In terms of the sadly forgotten state leagues – the AFL funded player payments (and higher payments) frees up money for the clubs to spend on other things – such as a few more staff around the players, and of course facilities. Also it must me noted that the fact that there are better players, more money and a higher standard, there likely will come more recognition, more fans, and a genuine and thriving second tier again.
Yes it is a very lofty sort of dream – but one that is certainly not beyond the reach of a body as well funded and powerful as the AFL – provided they have the belief that it is worth it, and the desire to look to execute it step by step over a period of time. They appear to have this belief when it comes to the women’s league – which leaves me in absolutely no doubt that it will succeed – in 10 years it will rival the best womens soccer leagues in the world for player compensation, professionalism and exposure. So if they turn their attention to the flagging state leagues which provide the stepping stone to the AFL for players (rather than just the Under 18 pathway – which requires a BIG step up for the players), it will result in benefits to all party’s, and result in not only a bigger and better AFL, but more importantly, a bigger, and better, and deeper sport.
It may initially sound unrealistic – and yeh given the way they AFL thinks, it almost certainly is – but there can really be no denying the merit in this sort of a setup. It fixes a lot of issues. If it is completely unrealistic, the next best option for the 2nd tiers would be the AFL raising the draft age. Given that this also ties in very closely with physical development of junior players, we will look at this soon.
Food for thought - and it would be great to hear this discussed more, rather than endless droning on about introducing zones and further reducing interchange at the highest level, whilst continuing to ignore the 'state of the game' everywhere else.
Strength Coach
Dot-Point Review of benefits;
For state leagues
- More relevance/recognition/exposure
- Higher standard
- Higher incomes
- Higher likelihood of getting drafted as a mature-age player
- Ability to commit to being a full-time player, or close to it, despite not being in the AFL
For the AFL
- Higher number of ready-made players being drafted
- Less wastage of teenage potential AFL talent (speculative picks outside the top 20)
- Higher overall standard of the competition, due to more quality players
- Quicker results from draftees, and therefore more interest in the draft, and ability to rise up the ladder quicker
- Building a stronger overall sport underneath the AFL. A weak foundation will inevitably effect its ceiling/peak.
Quick Calculations
Sticking to only the ‘Big 3’ state leagues, for simplicity’s sake for the time being – and given that these are the leagues that undeniably deserve a large spike in player compensation already.
Currently there are 8 non AFL-affiliated clubs in the SANFL, 5 in the VFL and 7 in the WAFL, for a total of 20 clubs whose player payments would be funded by the AFL’s TV income. So we will go with these figures for some very basic calculations.
Assuming that all 20 of these clubs have existing player payments of $400,000 per club, were the AFL to cover these players payments, it would cost the AFL $8 million per season. That would be;
Year Payment per club Total funding required by AFL (x 20)
Current $400,000 $8 million
Now lets look at the gradual build up in cost over 10 years, with gradual increases in total player payments per club;
Year Payment per club Total funding required by AFL (x 20)
1 $600,000 $12 million
2 $800,000 $16 million
3 $1.1 million $22 million
4 $1.3 million $26 million
5 $1.55 million $31 million
6 $1.75 million $35 million
7 $1.85 million $37 million
8 $2 million $40 million
9 $2.25 million $45 million
10 $2.5 million $50 million
