Hoops

NH: Shutdown impact on AFL

"They also spend millions more than they generate and rely on mega rich owners to succeed."

Some of those clubs are very, very profitable.

Billionaire owners, oil sheiks, Asian businessmen.

So now the EPL players have rejected the 30% reduction in their wages. They know that people come to watch THEM rather than the coaches or the refs, and that the EPL wouldn’t survive without them, but this is hardly the time to flex their muscles and show their dominance through a collective greed.

This would be a good time for the various sports organisations to show that they and the game are bigger than the individual players. It reminds me of the NBA lockout of 2011.

Luuc the issue with any sports person is a limited time at the elite level to earn money before they are deemed unfit to continue. Most sports have a 10-15 year window that players can earn from playing. Only the last 5-8 years is a decent figure. Yes you have outliers like Ablett or Dangerfield who can earn good coin early in their careers and continue this for their entire career but each team only has 2-3 of these types of players.

Luuc the issue with any sports person is a limited time at the elite level to earn money before they are deemed unfit to continue. Most sports have a 10-15 year window that players can earn from playing. Only the last 5-8 years is a decent figure. Yes you have outliers like Ablett or Dangerfield who can earn good coin early in their careers and continue this for their entire career but each team only has 2-3 of these types of players.

Why not turn it into a reality show like big brother. Isolate each team that wants to be involved at their training ground, transport them to stadiums and let them play. Charter planes for interstate clubs. Season lasts 1 round, have a top 4, 2 weeks of finals. So players have to be away from homes for 3 months. Lots of other jobs are longer. If players don't want to do it they don't get paid, those that do get the cash. Even give the premiers a cash prize to share amongst them.
NBA are talking about playing entire playoffs in Vegas and isolating in hotels.

In any case, I was reading an article from Tom Morris yesterday that said the AFL believes that mid August is a reasonable chance of resumption

This to me has similarities with the female athletes should have equal pay to male athletes. It comes down to a question of revenue generation. If they're generating revenue, they deserve their share of it.

In AFL's case, there wouldn't be much revenue right now? Maybe sponsorships money?

"How many CEOs have stated they're taking less than 50% salary while sacking low end staff?"

I don't have stats but anecdotally from watching the news this has been happening a bit?

AFL players aren't any more special than anyone else with a mortgage who finds themselves unemployed now. Banks have frozen mortgage payments so there's no reason these people who are currently generating zero income for their employers should be earning 50% of (in most cases) a pretty high salary.
But ultimately it's up to them to negotiate. If they're happy to kill their own league then go for it.
I'm surprised they're getting away with it considering they fought so hard for a revenue-sharing salary structure and now somehow when revenue is zero they still act entitled to a shitload of money.

It’s a great question, the Franklins type players of all clubs with the top 10 players take most of the money, so even half for these players it’s still a lot. It’s players form 20 to 44 on the list that 50% cut could hurt.

The only reason I can think re the money is that they all sign a standard afl contract, so that even if the clubs are individual they are still policed by afl headquarters who have the final say. The afl then dictate the rules.

I also see the clubs at worst want to get back on the field, if not this season the next at worst, so they don’t want to lose there players so they pay this season so they don’t all become free agents.

Only guessing but it’ll be interesting in all sports around the world.

Or they’re such pampered celebrities that they’d never lower themselves to stand in the queue at Centrelink like the rest of the country, and the government is trying to avoid the PR disaster that would happen if ‘our footy stars’ (cough) had to do something so embarrassing.

(You can tell how pissed off I am with how the AFL has been allowed to dominate Australian culture and lives. Eddie’s rant shows him up as a tool living in an AFL-centred bubble.)

Like everyone else, government bail outs. The afl never been scared of asking and getting government money.

The afl are not getting any revenue, no TV payments as no games, this then flows all the way down the line, Toyota and other main sponsors are not paying out money for no product. The afl were smart in buying that stadium at Docklands and can mortgage it to help clubs out. The nrl have nothing except pissing upright profits over the years.
It’s why they are all hoping to get restarted even if it means playing till Christmas, no games no revenue.

For those not as educated in the business of sports, what are the costs that are causing these clubs to bleed? Obviously revenues have been hammered. But on the cost side, they would have reduced a lot by standing down staff. Is it mainly player salaries that is causing the difficulty or are there a lot of fixed costs? Leases on training grounds and offices?

It’s a sport only played in one country, I’m not surprised it crumbling, in saying that all sports could be on life support if this keeps going.

So in light of the Crocs' demise and with a community model seemingly the only way forward for the club, how much capital is actually required to "float" an NBL franchise?

How much did Cairns and Wollongong start with?