Sporting News Australia
Anatomy of a contract
By Ricky Nixon
As his fantasy agent, this is how I’d be approaching Geelong over young gun Nakia Cockatoo’s future.
As an AFL agent I would sit watching the NAB Cup with great anticipation to see how “my boys” drafted three months earlier played against the big boys.
I watch footy differently to most because I did so with a business hat on, and I would get very excited if I saw the slightest inkling that I could have a star on my hands.
Let’s just assume for the sake of this column that I had signed Geelong’s Nakia Cockatoo last year.
Cockatoo went into the National Draft at the end of 2014 with big wraps on him but with the general consensus that he was an outside player with lots of skill and pace who tended to drift out of the game.
I would have been thinking he was probably a few years away from establishing himself in a strong line-up at Geelong although the Cats might have high hopes that he could take Travis Varcoe’s spot and sit on a wing all year and develop.
Wow it took all of five minutes into the first game and before I realised we had a “10 kick kid” on our hands.
What’s a “10 kick kid”? He is one who needs only 10 kicks to influence the game more than anyone on the park.
This kid showed electric game-breaking pace and better still can actually deliver the footy with precision at speed.
There is no doubt every club looks at the Hawthorn machine and says “what do we lack that can match them in September?” and what the Cats lack is outside speed and ball carry off half back, similar to what Bradley Hill has developed at the Hawks.
Cockatoo would be on the standard two-year deal when drafted and given he was taken at Pick 10, according to the collective bargaining agreement between the AFL and Players Association here is what he could earn if he played 22 games in 2015:
• Base payment: $71,515 (this is paid in 12 monthly instalments).
• Match payment: $3500, hence $77,000.
• Bonuses for 1-5 games $3265; 6-10 games $3265; 10+ games $3265 (max bonuses $9795)
• Total for 22 game season: $158,310.
But now the real game begins because we know we have a potential star on our hands and so does Geelong.
The problem is Geelong will want to play it down and as his manager I would want to tell them he’ll be All-Australian within three years. This is what would happen.
Geelong would approach me and seek to extend his contact beyond the two years. The going rate for Cockatoo’s potential is around the $200-250K guaranteed for the third and fourth years.
I would want to protect both Cockatoo’s interests (and in turn my own of course) hence careful consideration would have to be given to how we could maximise the contact by getting as much guaranteed money as possible and including incentives would be acceptable to the club.
I have no doubt the club would seek to extend now for a third year if possible whereas I would want him to play out the season and have the best year possible.
Why? Because his contact can’t change in the next two years regardless of his performance, and secondly there is only upside in how he performs and hence his value.
A risk of course is he gets injured or his form in the NAB Cup was a fluke and he shows nothing of that form during the season. As an agent you have to back your client in. We’d have nothing to lose.
I would wait until mid year and then seek to extend his contract by one to two years (on the proviso that he tells me he is very happy at Geelong and doesn’t want to return home).
What sort of deal would I seek? Probably a deal along the following lines:
• 2017 base: $275,000
• 2018 base: $325,000
Best and fairest incentives based either on their model or one they accept from me, for example:
• 1-3 in the B&F: $30,000
• 5-7 in the B&F: $20,000
• 8-10 in the B&F: $10,000
I would seek incentives along the following lines:
(a) If he plays in a premiership and finishes top 10 in the B&F in either 2017 or 2018 or both he gets a $30,000 bonus.
(b) If he finishes top 10 in the B&F in 2016 and 2017 he gets a new three-year deal at a minimum $350,000.
Of his base in 2017 I would seek an upfront payment of $75,000 in November so that he could put a deposit on a house. It’s a good time to hit up clubs for money because they have their first influx of membership money and also they get their yearly dividend from the AFL which is a seven-figure sum.
Oldest trick in the book but I would visit a club seeking a new deal and would always start the conversation off along the lines of (if talking to the CEO) “wow, well done on your membership, you guys are on fire here” or if it was the footy manager “you’re the best, every year you pick the best kids, no wonder you’re on the big money here”.
Why would I do that? Because it puts the person you’re talking to in a positive frame of mind and I lost count of how many times they would say “you must be kidding on how much you want. OK, we’ll come up from what we thought he was worth but can you just come down a bit.”
To which I would say “Come on mate, you picked him because you knew he would be a superstar. This contact actually makes you look good.”
Contract negotiation is all about timing.
When you are lucky enough to have a Nakia Cockatoo, you have more than just an exciting player.
He also has a catchy name and I would focus also on the fact that he could become a cult figure and hence a valuable marketing tool for the club, the AFL and of course for you as his agent.
With Michael Long doing such a great job of promoting indigenous players and their pathway to the AFL what better kid to use as an ambassador for the programs than Cockatoo?
Once his two-year standard deal finishes in at the end of the 2016 season he also qualifies for what called an Additional Services Agreement.
This is money that can be paid to a player for marketing and promotional services for the club or associates of the club.
As his agent this is another consideration to think of over the next 12-18 months.
So the ball is in Nakia Cockatoo’s court to now play to his capabilities while all of us sit back as his fantasy agents and see if he can deliver on our deal.
Ricky Nixon’s take on AFL #ChickenGoesBANG Mondays and Fridays 6pm Sporting News Australia
Contact Ricky Nixon via info@rickynixon.com.au
Ricky Nixon 