The Motlop decision was made on the basis of a secret formula thatThe Age can reveal in detail – the so-called ‘‘secret herbs and spices’’ which also renders the length of contract largely irrelevant to the draft pick that teams get for losing a free agent.
Key components of the compensation system include:
■A free agent paid $2 million over two years will be ranked higher on the compensation table than one who is paid $3.5 million over four years. The length of contract is only a ‘‘tie-breaker’’ if annual salary is equal to another player. The contract must be at least two years.
■The compensation is based entirely on guaranteed money,or the ‘‘base’’ salary,with incentive-based payments counting for nothing. A player who is paid $500,000 a season,who can make $800,000 with incentives,is ranked on the basis of a $500,000 contract.
It was this factor - plus the player’s age - that meant North Melbourne received only a second-round pick for star Daniel Wells,even though Wells can make more than $1.5 million over his three-year contract.
His base is less than $500,000 a season and he was 31 when he signed with Collingwood.
■The key to the formula is a ranking system,in which every player in the AFL aged 25 or older is placed in order,based on the size of their (guaranteed) contract.
The highest-paid players are ranked at 100 points,the lowest at 0.
The AFL then allocates up to 12 additional points for a player’s age. At 25 (as of October 31),a player receives the maximum of 12 points,a 26-year-old earns another 10 points,27-year-olds gain another 8,28 brings 6 and so forth,with a 30-year-old worth just 2 extra points.