(08-13-2024, 06:25 AM)kruddler link Wrote:Salary caps are not that tight and don't work that way.

Any club worth their salt will aim for match payments for 23 players over 24 rounds (or whatever we actually play) and put that aside for every season. Whats left is what you play players from as in their base and above base payments.

You go a step further and allocate a certain part to any of the following you implement as a club (each club does it differently)
- Top (3, 5 or) 10 B+F finishers bonus
- Matches played threshold bonuses (kids get 10 - 15 - 20 bonuses IIRC, same for others potentially if you wish)
- individual KPI targets (eg # goals or goal assists etc)
- AFL award bonuses (AA, brownlow, coleman, 22U22 teams etc)

You set aside whatever 'bonuses' you want to pay. You add that to what you set aside with your match payments.
Then you pay players from whats left.

If you make finals, the AFL allows gives you the extra $'s required to pay players for their time.
If you win the GF there is an extra million to allocate IIRC as well.

In short, there is no financial incentive to NOT play the kids.

(08-13-2024, 12:13 PM)Thryleon link Wrote:You need to fact check.

I've read the eba.  Players on base contracts usually qualify for match payments.

This is included in the cap, and depending on factors can see match payments worth as much as 5000 a match which can vary based on where a player was taken in the draft.

Now we play Ollie hollands a first rounder and lachie cowan a second rounder.

Between them in 2024 they have played 34 matches.  Hypotheticals state if they are on base contracts we pay 5000 per match, we have blown out our payments by a conservative 150k.  Not much as you stated, but depending on whom else is on base contracts you might have jack Carroll, jaxon binns, and jesse motlop earning match payments over and above their base contract.  Jordan boyd might be another and this can escalate quickly and cost a total of over 200k over a season.  Not earth shattering in a 14 million dollar cap, but it could cause some headaches in a situation where you are paying above the cap after banking in previous years if you've cooked your salary structure and were banking on making finals to get your extra million.

(08-13-2024, 12:29 PM)kruddler link Wrote:I've read the CBAs.

You are not understanding what i wrote.

ASSUME you are paying match payments for all 23 players that are playing.
ASSUME you are paying match payments for all 23 players, for every round.
Call it 5k each.

5k x 23 (players) x 22 (matches) = 2.53mil.

Your TPP for 2024 is $15,788,222
So, deduct 1 from the other and you have 13.26mil remaining.

Use that 13.26mil as your starting point to make player payments.

Now, in case you missed this part earlier as well, use that 13.26mil as a starting point and deduct any expected bonuses to be made.
Lets say 1.26mil of bonuses. (excessive, but it doesn't matter for this example.

You are left with 12mil.

Use that to work out your base contracts for all players.
Works out to average of 273k per player (44 players)

Now for kids, they have an agreed base to start with, so use that.
They also get match payments as part of their contract....so thats where they will earn more (BUT we already factored that in before)
For seniors, obviously they want more. So give them more.

At the end of the day, everyones base payments are covered.
Everyones bonuses are covered.
All the kids on match payments are covered.
What you have 'left over' is the 'match payments' that were not divied out to the senior players as they don't receive them. So whatever is left over in this, you spread amongst the senior players.

So if you started with 2.53mil of match payments allowed and your 15 kids on match payments clocked up 1mil, the remaining 1.53 mil you give back to the senior players on a sliding scale. Cripps gets a higher % than Fantasia.
OR
If you are lucky enough, you keep that and bank it for next year and spend it on recruiting players or signing bonuses etc.
or
You use that money to front load players to bank money the following year. eg, pay cripps 100k of 2025 money, in 2024. etc.


What you are saying is you max out the cap and have no room for unexpected match payments to kids. Which is not the way you do things.
Work backwards from worst case so that can't happen.

(08-13-2024, 12:58 PM)Thryleon link Wrote:I read what you wrote.

You're assuming what the club should be doing but it doesn't mean that's what's happening, particularly if we're trying to balance the books.

Not all players will be on bonuses so your example doesn't quite fit.