Carlton will maintain its ability to pay 105 per cent of the salary cap next year regardless of what slashes are made by the AFL in 2020.
The COVID-19 crisis looks likely to lead to a reduced salary cap going forward, with Western Bulldogs president Peter Gordon saying it will be at least a 20 per cent reduction.
The Blues have used a strategy of ‘under-spending’ in the salary cap across 2018 and 2019, which allows them to utilise 105 per cent of the cap in 2020 and 2021.
This is part of what allowed them to heavily front-end Jack Martin’s contract when luring him from the Gold Coast.
Carlton CEO Cain Liddle said that regardless of what happens with the cap, the Blues will maintain the advantage in 2021.
“That’s absolutely our understanding (that we’ll maintain the extra space regardless of salary cap cuts),” Liddle told SEN Mornings.
“Whatever that relates to this year, it will be proportionate and we’ll maintain that advantage and that’s an advantage we’ll have next year and why it’s so important that we have been able to maintain those revenue streams and not go too far into debt because we need to be in a position to capitalise on that under-spend that we’ve created over the last few years and provide an advantage for us going forward.
“That’s absolutely top priority and it was music to my ears when I went to my board when all this started and said ‘help me shape what our priorities are and are they changing’ and they just couldn’t have been clearer that our football performance and maintaining or even increasing our investment in football to whatever capability we’re provided by the AFL was our number one priority.
“As I said that was absolute music to my ears and we’ll continue to use absolutely every lever possible for us to improve our on-field performance and get us back to where we belong.”
Liddle confirmed that Carlton will once again be eyeing off players from other teams in the trade period, but the club is equally happily to go back to the draft.
“We had an approach there for a few years was pretty limited to going to the draft, we just needed to top-up that young talent and give them time to grow,” he said.
“We’ve refenced a few times now the more balanced approach that if we can bring in the right sort of talent from opposition clubs to fill roles, then that’s something we need to do, but we equally understand the top-end talent doesn’t come along every day.
“If there’s still an opportunity to bring a good kid in every year, then we need to absolutely be looking at that.
“I think you’ll hear us talk a lot about that balanced approach, we’re now looking at both options and in any given year if we’re able to bring two or three players in from opposition clubs that fill those roles, then we mightn’t be in a position to go to the draft, but if we can’t get those players we’ll happily go to the draft and continue to bring that young talent in.”
Sydney forward Tom Papley requested a trade to Carlton in the 2019 trade period, but the Swans rejected the deal and held him to his contract.