AFL players have finally agreed a new pay deal worth over $1 billion with the league for the next five years.
League chief executive Andrew Demetriou confirmed the new agreement is effectively the same as the $1.144 billion deal rejected by the players earlier this year, with one major concession from the AFL.
The agreement, which runs until the end of the 2016 season, will be formally reviewed after three years, allowing the players to ask for more money if AFL revenues are higher than originally forecast.
The AFL had originally wanted the terms of the deal locked in for the full five years with no mid-agreement review.
Demetriou and AFL Players' Association (AFLPA) chief executive Matt Finnis expressed delight a deal had finally been reached after months of robust negotiations.
The agreement was signed off as AFLPA delegates met at a conference in the Victorian coastal town of Lorne on Thursday.
Demetriou says the deal made AFL players the best-rewarded athletes in Australian sport.
"The deal unequivocally makes AFL the best career choice for aspiring young athletes," he said.
"At times it's been tough and robust negotiations but the outcome is a very good one for the game."
AFLPA president and Greater Western Sydney midfielder Luke Power says the deal is testament to the players sticking to their beliefs and "holding the line" despite the tough negotiations, much of which were played out in the court of public opinion.
"Not one player wasn't happy to be able to go back to their club and their players and tell them that we'd reached a deal that not only satisfied what our objectives were, but didn't compromise any of our values," Power said.
Finnis says player strike action was never formally threatened during the negotiations, as had been rumoured at times.
"Neither party have sought to conduct negotiations where you try to hold a gun to someone's head," Finnis said.
AAP
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, australia First posted December 15, 2011 14:54:29
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