50th Anniversary

Independently of each other, Geoff Pryor and Gareth Andrews had been thinking about a body to represent VFL players. In 1973, things started to heat up as Essendon player Geoff Pryor’s efforts to form a players’ association gained momentum as he began to talk to more players away from the field and started researching player unions overseas. On June 14, 1973, Geoff and Gareth met for lunch to discuss their ideas. From there, the group grew to include Barry Davis, Ray Smith, Des Meagher, David McKay and Doug Wade, before expanding and an eventual meeting on December 10 which would officially form the VFL Players’ Association.

Following the establishment of the VFLPA in December 1973, players agreed to return to their clubs to hold meetings at which the first delegates would be elected. On February 25, 1974, at Power House on Albert Park Lake, the first delegates meeting was held. Geoff Pryor was elected President, David McKay his deputy and Des Meagher was elected secretary. Despite having a significant role in the establishment of the VFLPA, Gareth Andrews did not take on a formal role and, for a while, became less active in the association due to his change in clubs. From March 1974, regular fortnightly meetings of VFLPA delegates took place.

With Geoff Pryor stepping away from football due to work commitments, Gareth Andrews returned to the VFLPA in an official capacity and was elected president. With 300 financial members in the VFLPA’s first year, Andrews’ goal was to continue to develop and grow the association to enable meaningful change within the game, including the respect of the association from VFL clubs.

When Gareth Andrews retired, Hawthorn ruckman Don Scott was elected president in early 1976.

In 1977, the Herald Sun started awarding $1,000 to the player deemed by the VFLPA as the Most Courageous. Each moment a player was nominated by the VFLPA, announced in The Footballer magazine, and formed part of the yearly nominees.

Fitzroy delegate Ron Alexander is elected to the role of president.

Introduction of the salary cap to support equalisation.

In 1990, the union’s name was changed to the AFL Players’ Association to mirror the national change in the competition. This year was also significant as it was the first year that a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)– then known as a Deed of Agreement – was negotiated.

25 years after the first VFLPA meeting, the Association achieved 100 per cent membership for the first time in its history. Representing all players from the 16 AFL clubs, the AFLPA continued to grow its support offering for the playing group by establishing a network of personal support and development services throughout Australia, creating the first Player Development Program.

Now a bi-annual event, the first camp was held in 2000 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players from across the league to come together on country to connect, learn and develop strategies to improve the football experience for all Indigenous players. Since 2000, the camp has been held across Australia, from Broome to Adelaide, and, for the first time in 2022, with AFLW and multicultural players in Geelong.

Robert Kerr led the charge in negotiating the AFLPA’s 5^th CBA, with the key principles reflecting a responsible attempt to balance the interest of the players with the realities facing the competition.

In 2005, the AFL Players’ Association moved all services provided under the Player Development Program in-house, employing experts in the fields of education, player welfare and career transition.

AFL players Mark Bolton, Paul Licuria and Joel Bowden establish Ladder, a charity dedicated to supporting at-risk and homeless young people. In Ladder’s first year, the AFLPA committed $10 from every player’s weekly match payment as a donation and has since risen to $25 per player, per match. Ladder remains the Official Charity partner of all players and a tier one charity partner of the AFL.

In 2010, the AFLPA negotiated the introduction of Free Agency to give players the freedom to choose their employer after eight (restricted) and ten (unrestricted) years in the system, as of the 2012 season. In 2012, at the start of free agency for out-of-contract players with at least eight years’ service at an AFL club, Port Adelaide defender Troy Chaplin became the first player to hold an offer he could not refuse.

A new five-year CBA was agreed to in 2011, delivering improved injury compensation, increased support for professional development and the establishment of Australia’s first sports annuity program (Player Retirement Scheme). A key moment in this CBA negotiation came in June of that year when more than 400 players packed into the Palladium at Crown, with another 300 on video link, as a show of unity.

The Players’ Trust was established in 2012 when the current players decided to contribute part of their salaries into a fund to assist past players who are facing hardship due to injury or illness.

At the 2013 MVP Awards, the inaugural 22Under22 team was announced. Essendon’s Dyson Heppell was named as the side’s captain, with North Melbourne’s Jack Ziebell selected as the vice-captain. Gold Coast had the most players selected in the inaugural team, with five Suns being picked – Jaeger O’Meara, Dion Prestia, Rory Thompson, Tom Nicholls & Trent McKenzie. The 22Under22 Team is an honorary representative Australian rules football team that seeks to recognise the best young talent in the Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women’s (AFLW) competitions each year. To be eligible for selection, players must be aged 22 or under for the entire season (including finals). An initial squad of 40 is selected by the AFL Players’ Board, before fans select a final team of 22 by voting via social media.

The players’ official charity initiative was established in 2014 when the male playing group voted to increase their match fee charity contributions from $25 to $50 per player, per game.

The captains of all 18 AFL clubs made an unprecedented plea to football fans to stop booing Sydney champion Adam Goodes.

In June of 2017, the AFLPA finalised a new six-year collective bargaining agreement (2017-2022) for male players that tied to the industry’s revenue for the first time in the history of the game. This CBA delivered a $1.84 billion package to players that saw a 20 per cent increase to player payments in the first year of the deal. It also included the establishment of a Lifetime Health Care program for past players, that will aid with the costs of joint-related and dental procedures stemming from their football careers.

Following consecutive one-year pay deals for the first two seasons, the AFLPA negotiated an inaugural collective bargaining agreement for AFLW players that included a 38 per cent increase to total player payments with the minimum wage rising by 27.6 per cent to tie with minimum male footballer payments on a pro rata basis. Additional investment was also made in education and training grants, mental health and wellbeing, minimum medical standards, relocation allowances, technology at playing venues, and football ending injury expenses.

Through discussions at the 2019 Indigenous All-Stars Summit, players and their Association unanimously decided to call out racial vilification on social media of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members as it occurs when previously the PA would contact individual players asking for their preferences when handling the incident. This resulted in a dramatic change in the way the industry supports players through incidents of racism online.

The members of the AFL Players’ Association have approved the Board’s recommended changes to its Constitution and, in doing so, have achieved equal representation between current AFL and AFLW players on its Board, with the changes being passed at the 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM). For the first time, the AFLPA Board will be made up of four current AFL players and four current AFLW players, alongside three independent members and the Association’s Chief Executive Officer. AFLW players Kerryn Peterson, Catherine Phillips and Isabel Huntington were elected to the Board.