OVENS and Murray clubs are set to be able to spend up to $180,000 a season under the impending salary cap.
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The league will have a salary cap of $160,000 but playing coaches will receive a 50 per cent discount of up to $20,000, meaning clubs can spend up to $180,000 a season. Non-playing coaches’ salaries will not be included under the cap.
While the finer details around the guidelines are still being thrashed out, AFL North East Border general manager John O’Donohue said the player spend limits were all but set.
O’Donohue said AFL NEB was still taking feedback from district leagues but the Tallangatta and District competition is set for a salary cap of $80,000.
The Ovens and King ($70,000) and Upper Murray ($60,000) will be slightly below the Tallangatta league with the same 50 per cent exemption to apply to playing coaches in those competitions.
“We’re pretty comfortable with where the caps are,” O’Donohue said.
“Where we are, there’s a fair appetite from our clubs to just consolidate our competition at the moment.
“Everyone is going to have a different opinion on what should be included and how it should roll out. We’ve done a lot of consultation with the clubs and taken a lot of feedback.
“There’s a fair bit of education that needs to happen between now and implementation time.”
The Goulburn Valley is likely to have a slightly higher salary cap than the Ovens and Murray but O’Donohue expected the the leagues to be on a par down the track.
A metropolitan competition, such as the Essendon and District league, could have a salary cap as high as $275,000, O’Donohue said.