Clubs push to end Sydney allowance

AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou and chairman Mike Fitzpatrick. Picture: David Caird. Source: The Daily Telegraph

SYDNEY'S contentious $900,000 living allowance appears doomed after a push by clubs to equalise the game.

A key agreement from yesterday's AFL gap summit was for a return to a "pure" salary cap where all players at all clubs are paid the same.

AFL boss Andrew Demetriou said a decision on the Swans' 9.8 per cent allowance - also afforded to Greater Western Sydney due to the city's high cost of living - would be made by the end of the season.

Yesterday club and league chiefs were also united on reducing the gap in football department spending between rich and poor clubs.

Collingwood spent $21.2 million on its footy operations last year, compared with $15.7 million at the Western Bulldogs.

Other equalisation options raised include:

REPLACING the AFL logo on club jumpers with a sponsor brand and sharing the profits among clubs.

STAGING an annual mini-draft to help battling clubs buy, swap or sell franchise players.

BUYING back Etihad Stadium to eradicate disastrous stadium deals affecting St Kilda, North Melbourne and the Bulldogs.

TAXING excessive poker machine profits banked by the richer clubs.

Asked about the Swans salary cap allowance yesterday, Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said: "I have a very straightforward belief . . . and that is that salary cap and its adherence has to be (equal) . . . otherwise it just blows up.

"You can't have teams having $2 million more salary cap than others."

It was also suggested that from next year the AFL should help cash-strapped clubs pay 100 per cent of the $10 million salary cap - up from 95 per cent.

League chairman Mike Fitzpatrick said all clubs supported the concept of "disequal" distributions to assist the poorer teams.

"Fans should expect that their club will be competitive on any given day," Fitzpatrick said.

"We also agree that not all clubs are or should be equal - support for equal funding of smaller clubs remains."

He said the commission had made no progress on buying back Etihad Stadium from its management company.

North Melbourne chairman James Brayshaw said all clubs were supportive of changes to distributions.

"It's going to come in and it will be good for everyone," Brayshaw told Triple M.

"We can't have what we have in the EPL in England, where it's the same four clubs every year and the rest of them are just a waste of time. That makes for a very poor competition."

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