Eddie McGuire has revealed some of his ideas to change the AFL as we know it and make the game more exciting for fans while maintainingย a strong income for the AFL.

With the new collective bargaining agreement close to being signed off on by both parties, McGuire told Triple M's Hot Breakfast,ย of his radical plans for the future.

While McGuire admits the players want to get paid more for doing less, he believes the players do have the league's interests on their mind, and want to prolong their careers in the game to keep the product entertaining.

McGuire came up with these ideas on the basis that supporters could still come through the gates at the same price, despite money needing to be spent on the AFLW competition and at a grassroots level.

โ€œThe thesis in my mind is how do we keep the best players, getting paid a lot more money for a longer period of time and at the same time provide a pathway for (the players struggling to break into the best 22),โ€ McGuire said.

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And with that all in mind, McGuire revealed his four points for the future.

  • Reduce AFL lists from 44 down to 35 players

โ€œBring it down to 35. Thatโ€™s 180 players (leaving the game) at $350,000 (per year) is $63-million. We are going to put some of that money back in because what we want to do is thicken up the VFL competition and the SANFL and the WAFL so we put some of that money back in there and have a really good second tier competition," he said.

  • Bring in a mid-season draft

"So youโ€™re not done by this time of year because youโ€™ve got a couple of injuries.โ€

  • Play shorter quarters but play more games

"If we cut the running time of a game to 21 and a half minutes of actual playing time. That equals a 90-minute game. That equal 7 and a half games per year of less football."

"What Iโ€™d suggest then is get rid of the JLT Cup, play one practice match then get into it. Have 4 extra games in a season to fix up the draw - not only does that work but it means you get extra TV rights, extra stadium deals so more money into the game so it can go through to the players and grass roots football."

  • Reduce players on the bench to two and revertย back to unlimited interchanges

"20 players again. 2 interchange. Unlimited interchange so the best players are there and you can rotate the players through the course of the season. So that coaches have to get it into their heads that players are not going to play every game of football and you can rotate them through."