An anonymous list manager says the league could have "18 Collingwoods" next year after the AFL advised clubs to back-end contracts to deal with salary cap cuts in 2021.
After Collingwood was ravaged during the trade period, the AFL finalised the total player payments and additional services agreement for next season, with players to take a 3.5 percent pay cut on average.
Speaking to The Age, the list manager suggested that clubs are less than impressed by the AFL urging them to renegotiate player contracts individually rather than applying a uniform league-wide cut.
"The advice from the AFL is to just back-end contracts to get under the cap. Fine. We will have 18 Collingwoods next year with everyone forced to push the problem down the road," the list manager said.
"We have worked for years to get our cap under control and keep it under control – as have other clubs – and the AFL advice is to blow it up again.
"We traded in good faith for draft picks that we may not be able to use because they announced these cuts after the trade period and the reality is we may not be able to bring in as many players."
Back-ended deals proved to be the downfall for Collingwood during this off-season, with the club forced to move Adam Treloar, Jaidyn Stephenson and Tom Phillips due to salary cap constraints.
The backlash from the moves has been widespread among Collingwood members, particularly for the way Treloar and Stephenson were notified of the team's desire to trade the pair.
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/afl-list-manager-warns-there-could-be-18-collingwoods-salary-cap-problems/6d0b5acd-a2c7-4034-9c94-142a36adcb33
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