Swans cashed up after exits
The Age
Friday August 21, 2009
THE spate of retirements at the Swans is likely to cut at least $2 million from the club's wage bill next season, giving it significant clout to chase rival clubs' players.And the club's salary-cap buffer will be widened even further by the likely movement of its highest-paid player, Adam Goodes, on to its veterans' list from next season.Jared Crouch yesterday became the sixth player to announce his retirement from the Swans since the end of last season, following Tadhg Kennelly, Nic Fosdike, Michael O'Loughlin, Barry Hall and Leo Barry.Estimates by The Age suggest those six players were to be paid a total of almost $2.5 million this season. While Kennelly and Fosdike both retired before the season began, payments to both of them are included in this year's total.Furthermore, two of the six retirees, O'Loughlin and Barry, are designated veterans. Their departure for next season will allow the club to replace them with two other players, which would ensure 50 per cent of their wages would not be counted in the salary cap.Three Sydney players will be eligible to be listed as veterans next year: Goodes, co-captain Brett Kirk and midfielder Jude Bolton. The Swans could potentially list all of them as veterans, although having three instead of two would result in a third of their wages being discounted, rather than a half.Kirk, while expected to play on beyond this season, is yet to formally confirm his plans. Jude Bolton is believed to have agreed to a one-year contract extension.Incoming Swans chief executive Andrew Ireland, currently their football operations manager, confirmed Goodes' eligibility for veteran status but said the club was "still to decide" whether the shift would be completed.As well as the salary benefits, clubs that designate veterans to be outside their playing list are allowed to draft an additional senior player to their list, but one fewer player on their rookie list.This year's AFL salary cap is $7.69 million per club, although the Swans can pay a maximum of $8.45 million because they get a 9.8 per cent allowance for the higher cost of living in Sydney compared to other cities. Similarly, while next year's salary cap is $7.95 million the Swans will be able to pay their players a maximum $8.73 million thanks to that allowance.It is believed the Swans will have more salary-cap headroom next year than they have had since at least the start of the decade.The Western Bulldogs' Brian Lake and St Kilda's Luke Ball have been reported to be targets of the Swans, with the former yet to agree a lucrative new contract and the latter dropped by the Saints for the second time this season.While Ireland told The Age that the Swans would consider trading for rival clubs' players in the off-season, he stressed selecting new players in the national draft was a higher priority.
© 2009 The Age
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