THE AFL has outlined its latest offer in the ongoing pay negotiations the AFL Players Association, with the proposed deal totalling $1.144 billion over the next five years.
 
League bosses met with the AFLPA on Tuesday night to present the proposal, which is an 11 per cent increase in player payments and additional service agreements (ASAs) for 2012.
 
The offer represents a $54 million increase on the original $1.09 billion pay deal offered by the AFL in May.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou, chairman Mike Fitzpatrick and football operations manager Adrian Anderson presented the offer to the full board of the players association last night.
 
The offer, which would cover the players' Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for the 2012-2016 seasons, is a $333 million increase on the last CBA, which expired on 30 June this year.
 
If accepted, players' earnings would increase by 11 per cent next year, a further 5 per cent in 2013, and 3 per cent in each of the last three years of the agreement.
 
Rookies' base salaries would rise by 40 per cent from a minimum of $35,000 to $49,000, and retirement contributions from the AFL for players would double from $36 million to $72 million.
 
AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou pointed out that the total pay offer amounted to $32 million more than the cash component of the League's new broadcast deal, and acknowledged that players deserved to be recognised for their contribution to the success of the sport.
 
"The players deserve a significant increase and the largest increase of any stakeholder in the game," he said.
 
"The AFL's offer sets out outstanding post-career support for our players and one of the best improvements in real wages and benefits for any workforce in Australia, let alone across the sporting landscape."
 
Under the AFL's proposed new agreement:
  •  An average listed player's salary would rise from $236,000 in 2011 to $301,000 by the end of 2016.
  • An average listed player would earn $1.398 million for the five years of the agreement, plus retirement benefits.
  • A player earning $500,000 in 2011 would earn $636,787 in 2016, and a total of $2,993,009 for the five-year period - an increase of $493,009 plus retirement benefits.
"We believe this is an excellent outcome for players and recognises their status as stars of the game," Demetriou said.
 
In tabling its new offer, the AFL has again rejected the players' demand for a fixed percentage of League revenue.
 
The players have requested between 25 and 27 per cent of revenue, projected by the AFL to equate to around $1.32 billion.
 
It has been reported this week that if the AFLPA is unsatisfied with the progress of negotiations, it may take industrial action as early as this weekend.
 
The AFLPA is yet to comment on the latest offer.