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AFL Players Now Earn More Than Four Times The National Average Income

A new $1.84 billion, six-year deal was announced on Tuesday.
Players like this guy, Gary Ablett Jr, are about to earn a whole lot more.
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Players like this guy, Gary Ablett Jr, are about to earn a whole lot more.

The average Australian Football League (AFL) player will now earn 4.48 times more than the average Australian income earner.

Yes, you read that correctly.

A new $1.84 billion, six-year deal announced by the AFL in Adelaide on Tuesday will see the average player get a 20 percent pay rise this year alone from $309,000 to $371,000 -- and that figure will keep going up until 2022.

Jumping by figures upwards of 1.2 percent each year, AFL players will be earning an average of $389,000 by 2022 after the deal was signed off by players and accepted by the League Players' Association CEO Paul Marsh.

In a move described as a "genuine win-win agreement" by AFL Chairman Richard Goyder, the deal will also include increases to the clubs salary cap, which will rise from $10.37 million to $12.45 million this year and to $13.54 million by 2022.

"We're really pleased to announce that we've reached an historic agreement with the Players' Association for the next six years in terms of arrangements with AFL players," he said.

"The AFL and the AFLPA have had long, but at all times respectful, negotiations. We're here today with a genuine win-win agreement."

And that's not all. The new deal has also put a focus on the wellbeing of players with an annual contribution of $4 million being signed on for each player's lifetime health insurance and career-ending injury fund and all Tribunal fines will be designated to concussion research.

The length of pre-season breaks will also be extended from three to four days and more than 1,000 Grand Final tickets will be distributed among the League's players.

In other words, life is looking pretty great right now if you're an AFL player.

And if you think the big figures will only be reserved for the best in the game -- they're not.

First-round draft pick players will have a set wage of $88,000 in their first year of play and rookies will get at least $71,500 while the minimum salary for anyone in their second year in the League has been set at $100,000.

Not bad when the national minimum wage is $672.70 a week, or $34,980 based on a year of full-time work.

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