Kane Cornes urges AFL to cap length of player contracts after lashing 'ridiculous' detail

Kane Cornes has urged the AFL to put a cap on the length of player contracts after describing the current situation as "completely ridiculous". On Monday, Carlton’s All-Australian defender Jacob Weitering became the latest star to put pen to paper on a massive new deal after signing an extension that will keep him at the club until 2031.

It comes after Richmond young gun Noah Balta last week agreed on a bumper seven-year contract extension that will see him remain at the Tigers until the end of 2032. Cornes was particularly scathing of the Balta deal and argued that Richmond would have been better off letting Balta leave as a free agent when his original contract ran out at the end of next season, arguing the club would have been handed a top pick after losing the utility.

The Tigers finished bottom of the AFL ladder in 2024 and are very much a team in transition under coach Adem Yze and Cornes predicted they would have been in a better position if they allowed Balta to leave at the end of next season. “He would have qualified as a free agent in 12 months’ time,” Cornes said on AFL Trade Radio. “But if he did leave, you know what they would have got? They probably would have got pick two. Don't be scared of a player leaving as a free agent.”

On Nine's Footy Furnace on Sunday night, Cornes doubled down in criticism of lengthy player contracts and Richmond's massive deal for Balta, who he described as the "nearly the 300th best player in the competition". Cornes said: "He finished 11th in their best and fairest in a side that won two games and that's like finishing 20th at (premiers) Brisbane's best and fairest.

"But don't listen to me, I think there's going to be a push from clubs to limit the maximum length you can sign a player for." Cornes pointed to comments from Brisbane Lions football manager Danny Daly who said he would "100 percent" support plans to cap player contracts at five years.

Sydney Swans coach John Longmire also said: "It's probably something for the AFL to consider - is there a limit on player contracts? Because in reality it's very difficult to get the clubs to do that because there's always someone else willing to offer more years."

Cornes said Richmond's deal for Balta was the catalyst for his push to bring in a five-year cap on player contracts like they have in the NBA. "So the Balta deal was the jump-the-shark moment for me in terms of long-term deals and maybe the catalyst for clubs getting together and saying to the AFL, 'Come on, this is getting completely ridiculous. Let's put a cap on the maximum length of these deals'," he said.

Contract debate erupts as Jacob Weitering signs huge deal

But leading AFL journalist Damian Barrett warned that it could amount to a "restraint of trade" for clubs and said he doubted the AFL Players Association would get on board. The debate about player contracts comes after Weitering committed to the Blues for the next six seasons, with the Carlton vice-captain saying he was determined to repay the club's "investment" in him after taking the All-Australian with the No.1 pick in the 2015 draft.

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“Carlton made a significant investment in me in 2015, and I couldn’t imagine playing football anywhere else,” Weitering said about his new long-term deal. “I have always wanted to be a one-club player, and I feel like I have grown up alongside my teammates in my nine years here.

“When I first started at the club, we went through some tough times, but I couldn’t be more confident in the stability and direction of the football club as we head into the coming years. It has taken a lot of hard work as a collective to get to this point and that hard work is far from over.

“I want to also say a huge thank you to our members and supporters who have embraced me since arriving at Ikon Park. I cannot wait for the next seven years at the Blues and for us all to get after achieving what we are striving for.”