The AFL is auditing Geelong’s salary cap and third-party deals as other clubs continue to ponder how the Cats structure their player payments.
The league confirmed the process in a statement and competition sources said the Cats were one of two clubs being audited over the off-season.
Bailey Smith has significant commercial appeal beyond the game. Credit: Getty Images
“The AFL conducts regular salary cap audit activities across a number of clubs every year as part of our annual salary cap compliance process. We do not provide commentary on the conduct or progress of any of these activities and the only time we release any information publicly is if we determine there has been a breach of AFL rules.”
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon put the topic on the agenda at a Saints function late last year when he said he thought the Cats leveraged their relationship with retail business and sponsor Cotton On to retain and attract talent.
“Everything we are doing on and off the field with the support of our major sponsors and our private guys are leaning in to create opportunities, like Cotton On do for Geelong,” Lyon said at the club function in November.
“They help the partners, they help the families on and off the field.”
The Cats also came under scrutiny when an existing deal between club sponsor Morris Finance and their coach Chris Scott was looked at after the Geelong-based business advertised that Scott had been appointed to the role of Morris Finance chief of leadership and performance. Two club sources said the deal between Scott and Morris Finance, which had been in place for several years, had not changed.
The money from the deal was included in the marketing component of the senior coach’s wage, but it remained unclear whether any money went into the soft cap.
Recruit Bailey Smith also has a marketing deal with Cotton On, which he signed while playing with the Western Bulldogs. Geelong have managed to recruit big-name players regularly from other clubs including Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide), Jeremy Cameron (GWS) and Zach Tuohy (Carlton) and were in the market for Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver last season. They also met with the Suns’ Matt Rowell over the off-season.
