With a lucrative deal imminent for Richmond premiership coach Damian Hardwick, former Tigers coach Danny Frawley claims coaches should be paid upwards of $2.5 million.
In a move that should shake up the football department salary cap of $9.58 million, which the AFL confirmed would stay the same for the 2018 season, Frawley believes that a marketing exemption for senior coaches in the football department cap, would see this pay rise come to fruition.
Frawley believes that Hardwick along with Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson are woefully underpaid, with the Hawks aware that they couldn't possibly pay Clarkson his true worth in his latest contract extension due to the constraints of the cap.
Frawley, who is the former head of the AFL Coaches Association, has no doubt that head coaches should be getting paid more then what they do.
“There has got to be a marketing component in their salaries. These guys sell their clubs on much more than their coaching ability,’’ Frawley said.
“I know Alastair Clarkson adds so much to a club. He should get paid some of his contract outside the soft cap.
“There are a whole range of incentives he should be able to profit from. On the open market a guy like Clarkson should be to be paid somewhere in the vicinity of $2-$2.5 million. But because of the cap he might be on $1.2 or $1.4 million.
“Damien Hardwick and John Longmire are no different. I have no doubt Paul Roos was given a huge salary at Melbourne because of the brand he brought.”
Melbourne was able to offer Paul Roos $1.5 million a season is his tenure at the Dees, due to the club having ample amount of space in it's football department cap.
Since the cap was introduced, a tax of 75c on top of every dollar spent over the cap has shied clubs away from going over the cap to reward their coaches with new contracts.
With clubs posting multi-million dollar profits, Frawley believes that senior coaches helped drive revenue through membership, sponsorship, merchandising and corporate sponsors, which clubs are investing this money in the football department rather than rewarding their senior coaches.
Carlton legend David Parkin, disagrees with this, saying that coaches are well paid.
“This is an old man’s view but it’s a privilege to be in the game, playing or coaching, and they are extremely well paid for what they do,’’ Parkin said.
“In most cases if you asked them they would be satisfied. I coached at Carlton for 10 years from 1991-2000 and I was paid $200,000 a year whether we won flags or didn’t.
“If they are in it for money they shouldn’t be there. The cap does limit the capacity of teams but it is one of the things the AFL put into place which helps us have three teams win premierships with three different methods the last three years.”
Hardwick who has another year left on his contract, an extension will be discussed in the early part of this season, which will potentially see his new deal allow him to pass club legend Tom Hafey's 248 games coaches record at Richmond and become their longest serving coach in the club's illustrious history.
