I guess the "how large is your revenue" piece is crucial.
What if Zuru sponsors Auckland FC to the tune of say $5M/year. Is that revenue?
“The implementation of these reforms over coming years is designed to ensure a competitive balance and to build long-term foundations for growth that continue to unlock the full revenue potential of each club,” APL executive chairman Stephen Conroy said, adding that the existing system “was no longer fit for purpose”.
What if Zuru sponsors Auckland FC to the tune of say $5M/year. Is that revenue?
“The implementation of these reforms over coming years is designed to ensure a competitive balance and to build long-term foundations for growth that continue to unlock the full revenue potential of each club,” APL executive chairman Stephen Conroy said, adding that the existing system “was no longer fit for purpose”.
He suggested every club in the competition, including New Zealand’s Wellington Phoenix and Auckland FC, was spending at least AU$3m on player salaries in the ongoing 2024-25 season.
“I would struggle to find any of them spending less than $3 million and the average spend is well in excess of that.
“It’s one of the reasons why we look at the player spend arms race and we scratch our heads and go, okay, the Swiss cheese (salary cap system) we’ve currently got, we need to change it.”
There is no publicly available information as to what A-Leagues clubs spend on player salaries, but Auckland are widely considered to have joined the two Melbourne clubs – Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory – and the two Sydney clubs – Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers – as the competition’s biggest spenders, on their way to sitting at the top of the ladder with three rounds to play in the regular season.