THE GROUP of 54 players selected to get access to the AFL’s new $35 million marketing fund has been locked in, with the game’s biggest names set to cash in with the lucrative allowance.
Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos, West Coast young gun Harley Reid, Geelong recruit Bailey Smith and Sydney gun Isaac Heeney are all a part of the group from the AFL competition, while Monique Conti (Richmond), Emily Bates (Hawthorn) and Chloe Molloy (Sydney) will be among the list of AFLW stars to also have access to the fund.
The marketing fund was negotiated in the 2023-2027 Collective Bargaining Agreement with the AFL and AFL Players’ Association but after long negotiations on the process an initial group has finally been locked in, with agents to be informed this week if their players are in the 54 players picked.
The fund was developed to reward the game’s most marketable AFL and AFLW players through additional player appearances and image use with the League’s sponsors.
Bailey Smith celebrates a goal during the round nine match between Geelong and GWS at GMHBA Stadium on May 11, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos
The $35 million will be distributed across the five years of the current CBA, with the previous two and a half seasons seeing marketing appearances arranged through the ambassador fund. The significant shift in how the best players are rewarded off-field will see many players raking in around the $2 million mark a season, combining their on and off-field pay.
The new model will now kick in immediately, with the decisions on the group based on an independent and objective matrix based on market demand, on-field performance and personal brand measures.
As part of the first 54 star-studded group, each club has two AFL players and one AFLW picked. For example, at Carlton the players are Patrick Cripps, Charlie Curnow and Darcy Vescio.
An additional cohort of 26 players will be added across the season at the request of specific commercial partners of the League.
Other players in the initial list will be Western Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli and high-profile Hawk Jack Ginnivan, while Ellie Blackburn (Western Bulldogs), Ruby Schleicher (Collingwood), Bonnie Toogood (Essendon) and Jasmine Garner (North Melbourne) are among the AFLW players.
Ruby Schleicher ahead of Collingwood’s clash with West Coast in AFLW round four, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos
“We hired an external party to do it for us and come up with a selection criteria and a matrix and went over those three principles. When we looked at that first initial sample list it spat out, it was really close,” said Michael Jamison, the AFLPA’s general manager of communications and commercial.
“Importantly there’s that initial 54 cohort that is decided by the matrix and then there is some flex outside the 54 to make sure the right players are being paired with the right opportunities.
“As an association we don’t want to be limiting opportunities for our players so we think we’ve got a really good mix of making sure the initial cohort are the ones who this is tailored for and there’s also some opportunities in and around the edges.”
Marcus Bontempelli during the round 10 match between the Western Bulldogs and Essendon at Marvel Stadium, May 17, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos
The remainder of the marketing fund will be distributed over the next two-and-a-half seasons under the current CBA, with the money sitting outside of each club’s salary cap. Jamison said the marketing opportunities at varying clubs would see the competition’s stars be able to clinch significant deals.
“I don’t think the very top players will earn a significant amount more than what they’re already earning off-field,” he said.
“But we think it’s the next group coming up who will be open to more opportunities. That’s the purpose of this – to reward those top players.
“We think compared to other sports, particularly globally, the difference between the top earners and the average earners is not huge here. This was a mechanism to try and increase that and make sure our top 50, 80, 100 players are getting more commercial opportunities than they have in the past.”
Emily Bates celebrates a goal during Hawthorn’s clash with GWS in round eight, 2024. Picture: AFL Photosand Greater Western Sydney Giants at Kinetic Stadium, on October 19, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images via AFL Photos)
The list of players eligible for the marketing fund money will be reviewed at the start of every season. It is likely the final list of the 80 players will have a breakdown of 85 per cent AFL players and 15 per cent AFLW players, while monthly monitoring of the fund will take place. Jamison said the marketing fund hadn’t locked out players from earning opportunities.
“We want to make sure the fund is spread fairly evenly across all the players and so the top 10 per cent of the players aren’t earning 90 per cent of the fund,” he said.
