Geelong Cats coach Chris Scott believes AFL’s biggest names are being under paid compared to administrators

Geelong coach Chris Scott believes the best players in the AFL are being underpaid and it makes no sense that administrators are earning more than the stars of the competition.

The Cats are among multiple clubs reportedly being audited for third-party agreements involving players this season, with high-profile recruit Bailey Smith among the stars mentioned due to his non-footy deal with Cotton On.

Scott didn’t want to comment on those reports, saying he didn’t have enough information about the issue.

But he was strong in his belief that the game’s biggest names should be earning more money.

“I have a strong view on it. The industry should reward people in proportion to what they do in the game,” Scott said.

“Players are finally getting closer to where they should be. I still think they should be paid more, relative to other parts of the industry. I think it’s reasonable to work out, what’s the priority? How do you prioritise people within the game?

“Is it right that administrators get paid much, much, much, much more than the best player in the comp? Probably not.”

Figures released by the AFL last month showed 25 players earned at least $1 million during 2024 while another 39 were paid between $800,000 to $1 million.

But Scott said having a salary cap, draft and football department soft cap was putting significant restrictions on clubs.

He was critical of the impact the soft cap has had on the industry.

“The whole COVID re-set where we went from a COVID crisis and it was a cash flow crisis to all of a sudden those cuts were re-branded as competitive balance. That was just made up overnight. That’s clearly not right, is it?” he said.

“You can’t still be using the COVID cash flow crisis to artificially put a ceiling on certain cohorts. You’ve got to be a bit more honest than that.”

Smith will play his first game for the Cats during Saturday’s clash against Fremantle. Geelong recruited the star midfielder from the Western Bulldogs during the trade period.

Scott pointed out his deal with Cotton On had been in place long before he moved to the Cattery.

“The first I heard of Bailey Smith’s connection to Cotton On was when I was driving, probably sitting in traffic on City Link and I saw him on a billboard. That was a few years ago. I’m not sure how much we had to do with that,” he said.