EXCLUSIVE: AFL team spending gap widens
Confidential figures show the gap between the ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ clubs has increased to as much as $6.5 million.
Club bosses will meet league heavyweights in Melbourne for talks today, with ‘benchmark’ club financials likely to be discussed.
In terms of football department spending, Fremantle topped the league ladder in 2014, spending about $25 million on total player payments and other football department costs.
The Gold Coast Suns sit at the bottom of that ladder, spending about $18.5 million, or $6.5 million dollars less in 2014.
As reported on Seven News, it’s been revealed Hawthorn, which spent about $23 million, and Collingwood, approximately $22 million, topped the list of Victorian clubs. This places both clubs inside the top five.
It’s understood the Western Bulldogs had the lowest football department spend of Victorian clubs in 2014.
The figures indicate in the newly introduced football department cap, introduced mid-last season, hasn’t reduced this spending gap, at least so far.
These numbers also come less than a week after AFL Players Association boss Paul Marsh put revenue sharing on the agenda in upcoming collective bargaining talks. Marsh’s position sparked a heated on-air debate last week with Collingwood President Eddie McGuire, who’s strongly opposed to the Players Association’s position.
The Players Association Board is set to meet next on June 17, where equalisation will be on the agenda. While even Association sources concede there’s a lack of detail surrounding their exact position at this stage, it’s clear new CEO Paul Marsh won’t budge easily.
The football department spending gap was reportedly $5.9 million in 2013, and the $600,000 increase between top and bottom might be used as ammunition by the association to shore up its argument.
The confidential figures show St Kilda has the lowest revenue amongst the clubs in 2014, and it’s understood CEO Matt Finnis is focusing on that area, in a bid to improve their position. Put simply, there isn’t much fat to cut, without a detrimental effect on their competitiveness on field.
Speaking to Triple M on Sunday, Brisbane CEO Greg Swan also explained he’s focused on growing revenue, with most of the costs cut. Brisbane’s wrestling with debt in the order of $13 million.
Both St Kilda, at Etihad, and Brisbane, at the Gabba, are constrained by poor stadium deals. Stadium returns in the confidential figures support this. West Coast and Fremantle top the ladder of stadium returns.
While Adelaide and Port Adelaide lobbied hard last year for a better deal at Adelaide Oval, they still sit mid table in terms of their stadium return, well ahead of the Eithad clubs. Port and Adelaide’s stadium return will improve further in 2015 on the back of the renegotiated deal.
North President James Brayshaw recently put poor Etihad returns back on the agenda, and to say the Stadium hasn’t proved the ‘rivers of gold’ the founding clubs originally anticipated is an understatement.
The ‘big clubs’ may continue to point out clubs like St Kilda only have themselves to blame. After all, they weren’t forced to enter the Etihad deal, and in the Saints case weren’t forced to move to Seaford. Indeed, new CEO Matt Finnis has inherited a complex financial mess.
One influential figure is also concerned clubs going to the AFL for help, and in particular using the League’s ‘shared services ‘, are robbing themselves of better returns on their sales inventory.
The reasons some clubs are struggling are clearly multi-layered and complicated. But it’s clear this issue will gain traction throughout this season, and whether they’ve got themselves to blame or not, the smaller clubs aren’t competing on a level playing field when it comes to spending on their core business.