AFL players will be awarded more freedom to move between clubs under new free agency rules.
Fox Sports’ Tom Morris has reported that a ‘free agency for life’ rule will come into play at the end of this season which is expected to benefit delisted players.
Under the new guidelines, those who are axed by their club will be made a delisted free agent for life, overriding the previous rules where a player had to notch up eight years of service before being eligible for restricted free agency.
In the past, players who had been delisted prior to eight years of service would be forced to enter the draft or explore their options during the trade period, but the new rules gives these players more flexibility in that they will be able to look elsewhere at the completion of their contract.
It is understood that three options were put forward during the AFLPA pay negotiations in 2017 and of those three, the ‘free agency for life’ proposal has been agreed to.
The AFL will likely confirm the changes to the free agency ruling in the coming days.
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