Buddy Franklin officially became a member of the Sydney Swans on Tuesday evening when Hawthorn opted against matching Sydney’s huge contract offer to the spectacular forward.
The move puts to rest a turbulent week in the AFL after Franklin made the shock announcement he would be moving from the Premiership-winning Hawks to Sydney on a nine-year, $10 million contract.
The Swans have taken a massive gamble with the Buddy deal, but for now it’s all smiles.
“Lance is a champion player and we are really excited that he wants to continue his outstanding career at the Swans,” coach John Longmire said.
“We understand that nine-year contracts are rare in AFL football, but so too are players the quality of Lance Franklin.
“As a club we will always seek to improve our playing list and we are confident Lance will be a great fit.”
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The contract will expire when Buddy is 35 years old and the believed to be back ended deal could potentially be devastating for the Swans down the road.
To save their cap over the next couple of seasons, Sydney will pay Buddy less than the yearly average of the contract and make up for it over the final seasons of the deal.
It doesn’t sound like the AFL were too keen on the deal, but were legally unable to stop it. If Buddy doesn’t work out, or God forbid ages, the Swans could face salary cap hell.
“If he’s injured and not able to play… they’re obliged to pay him and that money is obliged to be in the cap,” AFL deputy chief Gillon McLachlan said.
“We have to let football clubs make decisions. We don’t have any authority to step in and stop boards making decisions.”
One can’t help but wonder what Sydney’s long-term plan is- do they intend on competing for another Premiership over the first half of Buddy’s deal while the forward is still in his prime before conceding a rebuild in the latter half of the next decade? Whatever they intend, Buddy’s deal is a huge risk for one of the AFL’s most successful clubs.
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