Horse

[dejavoodoo44]

Can anyone enlighten me as to how the soft cap works?

Hmm, it's only in the last couple of days that I've been interested in finding out just what the soft cap is. As per usual, with the more arcane workings of the AFL, I haven't been able to find a document where the exact policy is laid out. So I'll just expound on a few things the I've gleaned.
The main different between the normal salary cap and the soft cap, is what happens when clubs go over the cap. With the salary cap, if clubs exceed the designated maximum spend, then that is regarded as a breach and the offending club is liable to penalties, such as, fines or possibly loss of points. Whereas with the soft cap, the club can go over the cap, but they then have to pay what the AFL has dubbed, a luxury tax, which is levied at a rate of 100%. Which means, for example, with the $9.5 million cap, if a club spends $10 million on their football department, then they would have pay a $500,000 luxury tax: presumably to the AFL. Just exactly what is included in football department spending is also a bit unclear (I really just formed the above list from a few different articles). Definitely coaches, assistant coaches and football department staff. And since some clubs were arguing earlier in the year, that mental health programs for players should not be included, then I'd presume that those sort of programs are included. But I wouldn't know if things like gym equipment, medical equipment, office staff or receptionists are included?

[caj23]

I think even the lower-tier coaches are getting considerably more than that ($350K is only slightly higher than the average AFL player
salary) and guys like Longmire and Clarkson will already be getting more than $1M. Paul Roos reportedly was paid $1.5M a year to
coach Melbourne. I understand these are all big numbers, but it is relative, and there will just be a rough going rate for a very senior
& successful coach, just like there is for all jobs. It's just a bigger number. There is a cap, so it's not like any club can go completely
crazy really. Maybe just take Pridham at his word, he said Longmire can coach the Swans for as long as he likes. And check out
what Pridham does for a day job, believe me he's not going to get all flustered just because Glenn Archer and Wayne Carey had a beer
with a "footy journo" one night in Melbourne.

OK, lets agree that he is currently on $1m per year, on what basis could we justify almost doubling his already generous salary to $1.8m over a five year term?

Its not just the soft salary cap that's the issue, its finding the additional $4m to fund it.

[dejavoodoo44]

Longmire is the 2nd most in-demand coach in the league. We know he can coach. Regardless of team performance going forward, I can't see Longmire being blamed, even if we go into a poor patch. It probably wouldn't be his fault anyway.

The Swans can offer him a long term deal for just about as long as he wants. I don't think NM can do the same, even if they might offer more money over the next 4 or 5 years.

Once you're making a million a year, other factors kick in and become more important, like uprooting your Sydney family and moving to Melbourne. I'm sure his kids want to stay in Sydney.

I'm also sure that he would like to honour the last year of his contract, which would put him out of contention for a new job next year.

I also feel that Longmire is emotionally invested in bringing on this new group of young players that shows so much promise and take this group to another premiership. It would truly be his team; one he built himself. And if he did, he would be considered among the greatest coach of this era. It's his legacy on the line as well. He doesn't have any investment in the North playing group.

Considering all these factors, a move to North Melbourne looks only a slim chance.

Good points. And I assume that him being well paid for almost all his life, would mean that he'd also have plenty of income from investments, so a pay rise would be even less of a consideration.

[KTigers]

So the "luxury tax" is a concept brought in from MLB where there is no salary cap. If a baseball team spends over the "luxury tax
threshold" (I think it's $206M USD this year) on player salaries then they pay a percentage of the amount they went over the
threshold to the league. The percentage is 20% the first year they do it, 30% the second year they do it, and so forth.
Ultimately though, repeat offenders can start losing position in the draft as well. The league distributes the luxury tax they receive
to player retirement funds and teams that spend under the threshold (ie most of them). It's a extremely mild attempt at equalisation
in a league that is far from equal, yet remains incredibly successful.

[Bloods05]

If they needed to, a gun marquee player could commute by plane from Melbourne for training and match days should they not wish to live in Tassie.

Way way back before the dawn of time, Peter Hudson spent a couple of years living in Tassie and commuting to Melbourne (possibly by hot air balloon) to play for Hawthorn. So it's not out of the question.

[Kafka's Ghost]

Way way back before the dawn of time, Peter Hudson spent a couple of years living in Tassie and commuting to Melbourne (possibly by hot air balloon) to play for Hawthorn. So it's not out of the question.

I believe Tom Scully did the same from Melbourne, commuting to train and play with GWS.

[Markwebbos]

If we do assume Longmire is on $1m per year then he'd be turning down around $4m over 5 years to stay in Sydney, assuming they don't increase the size of his contract. He might feel that this extra money and the financial security that comes with it outweighs the uprooting of his family. Or he might not. He may feel he's already doing fine financially and he's not going to do it. I do seem to remember that the main reason Ross The Boss ran off to Freo was because he'd got himself in financial difficulties with investments gone bad. I presume Longmire is in the same position.

The way the soft cap works, if you are right dejavoodoo44, just makes it doubly expensive to get a coach at that cost, but I can imagine a club asking wealthy members to put their hands in their pockets to cough up for a fund specifically for a coach like Horse. It just starts an arms race as this will drive the cost of all coaches upwards. It's pretty irresponsible by North and an admission that they can't lure him on the basis of their list, facilities, big club etc.

I would imagine that the Swans will make a counter offer, less than North's but more than he's currently on, and explain the impact that matching North would have on the football department and finances of the club.

And I'd hope he'd want to stay to develop the extremely talented young playing group he's got at the Swans.

[Ludwig]

The NBA is in its free agency and trade period now. They have a salary cap system that has all kinds of complicated rules about the kind of contract a player can have, depending on his draft pick number and years of the league. They also have a hard cap luxury tax.

I've only been following this a little, but it's hard to wrap your head around all the calculations that go on and come into play regarding who a club can trade for and what kind of salary they can get. Let's remember also that we are talking really big money here, iike A$300 mil over 5 years for a maximum contract that a Lebron James would make.

Their CBA is 600 pages long.

We are heading in this direction, but the kind of buffheads we've got running the AFL and in the media, there's only so far we can go down the NBA road, which is probably a good thing.

For those interested: NBA Salary Cap FAQ

[bloodspirit]

I'm not losing much sleep over this. I agree with Markwebbos that we will probably have to increase the amount we pay Horse to keep him, and we will, but we'll still be paying a fair bit less than North has offered. I find the figure suggested quite believable. It's unsurprising that a top coach would be worth at least as much as a top player, especially when there is no hard cap preventing higher payments.

It's interesting that North have aimed at Horse rather than Clarko. You'd think Clarko has less incentive to stay with the Hawks given that they are further from success and moving wouldn't entail relocating. Perhaps the difference is that Clarko, I think, is contracted an extra two years and so it might be harder to get him out of his contractual obligations.

The most interesting thing I have learned out of this discussion so far is that the luxury tax is as high as 100% - I didn't know that.

[Ralph Dawg]

Zero chance Nick Blakey leaves.

Penrith in the NRL pulled out all stops to sign Ivan Cleary so that they could keep his son Nathan at the club. This included inducing him to breach his contract and to generally act in a very unethical kind of way (imo). Maybe North are playing from the same rule book in a roundabout way of getting access to Blakey jnr and some of our young talent seeing as they have virtually none.

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Would also explain why they prefer Horse over Clarko seeing as the Hawks have minimal young talent too.

[goswannies]

Good points. And I assume that him being well paid for almost all his life, would mean that he'd also have plenty of income from investments, so a pay rise would be even less of a consideration.

That assumes that he doesn’t want to maximise his income and set himself, his children and his children’s children up. Many people want to future-proof their finances. $1.8M vs $1M or $1.4M helps that significantly

[MattW]

Penrith in the NRL pulled out all stops to sign Ivan Cleary so that they could keep his son Nathan at the club. This included inducing him to breach his contract and to generally act in a very unethical kind of way (imo). Maybe North are playing from the same rule book in a roundabout way of getting access to Blakey jnr and some of our young talent seeing as they have virtually none.

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Would also explain why they prefer Horse over Clarko seeing as the Hawks have minimal young talent too.

Blakey has always wanted to be a Swan. Playing with and coached by his heroes. He's loving it.

[bloodspirit]

Would also explain why they prefer Horse over Clarko seeing as the Hawks have minimal young talent too.

I don't buy that at all.

[Ralph Dawg]

I don't buy that at all.

I hope you are correct. I really am optimistic about our next tier coming through and would hate for them to leave more than the thought of losing the coach.

[stellation]

Out of interest, what do you think nick Blakey would be worth on the open market right now. In thinking upward of $600k p.a.

He's probably shown more in his first year than Tom Boyd did in his first year, and Tom ended up with $1 million p.a. for 7 years. A lot of Tom's contract was circumstantial/potential etc. - I'd say it's reasonable that a team would offer Nick at least $600k p.a. per season, for about 4 seasons, to leave.