If a player is rested (not dropped) do they still get match payments ? ?

Question

It hasn't happened lately that I know of but if Bomber Thompson decided to rest say Ablett , Ling and Bartel would they get paid considering they are able to play ? Also same with coming back from injury , If a player is fully fit but the club elects to rest him a little longer what happens ? If I were a player I'd want to play as much as possible for more money

Answer 1

I was discussing this subject with an 18 year old aligned to an AFL club, about 10 years ago.

He told me he was then on a $60,000 annual base payment & $2200 per game. So if he never played a game during that years contract he just got his 60K - & of course he received $2200 for every match, if he was lucky enough to be selected.

If a player is on such a contract & is "rested" under the circumstances you have described, yes, he would receive his match payment. There is a clause in the contracts nowadays for such instances.

The performance based contracts - leaving the likes of Reiwoldt apart - are used for players like ruckman King etc, when he left the Cats last year. Teams aren't going to lock in big salaries for the likes of him - that's when certain performance based contracts are used......get a game & we pay you, don't & we wont!

Answer 2

Yes. They do. Dropped, injured, rested, or whatever - as long as it is in their contract. Most managers ensure contracts have coverage for such instances.

There are some contracts that are "performance based".....generally older players, transferring from one club to another, towards the ends of their career.

These contracts may stipulate that the player only be paid for matches played. So if the player is out of form or dropped for one reason or other he only receives his base salary - not additional match day payments.

I hope i have made sense.