Former Collingwood star Dane Swanย believes current AFL players should think about going on strike amid pay issues across the AFL.
The Premiership star andย Brownlow Medalist has concerns over the pay deal that was signed last year that saw AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan earn a salary of $1.74 million.
2016 Brownlow Medalist Patrick Dangerfield earned just $800,000 during his fantastic season last year, which is less than half of what McLachlan was paid.
โIf I was still playing I would strike for sure,โ Swan told campmates in the jungle of Channel Ten's showย Iโm A Celebrity โฆ Get Me Out Of Here!
โThe game is not going round without the players, the AFL can think what they like but as soon as the players say we are not coming to work, theyโve got nothing.โ
โThe AFL donโt want to kill our game, they all make too much money all the bloody top dogs in the game.
โHow a player isnโt making the most money in the AFL is beyond me. Yet the highest paid player is probably $1.2 million, maybe.โ
After all was said and done following the 2016 season, the AFL turned over a loss of $17.8 million.
As well as the current pay situation, Swan also revealed his personal gains at the start of his career, and how he took advantage of signing his first professional contract at age 17 which was worth $36,000.
โI moved straight out of home, moved straight in with my mate and spent every cent as soon as I got it,โ he explained.
โLike every footballer when they come into the league, I thought, โhow good is this, Iโm going to make good moneyโ.
โI thought I was a rock star and I was probably the s***tiest player on the AFL list (at the time). โI was useless and that is how it was for probably two years before I got into some trouble.โ
In 2003, Swan was arrested for brawling with security guards in Melbourne, and told his campmates in the jungle that he spent $250,000 over eight years in order to put the matter behind him.
โLong story short, we got kicked out of a cab then got into a punch-on with five bouncers,โ he said.
โOne of my mates went a bit too far and they got reasonably hurt, so we got arrested for that.
โI had about eight charges but we ended up getting charged with affray, thatโs the one that stuck.
โIt went for about eight years, cost me about $250,000. Total court fees, paying people โ thatโs about what it cost me in the end. I learned the hard way.โ
Although the arrest nearly ended Swan's AFL career and ruined his reputation in the game, he admits that moment changed the entire course of his career.
โThe arrest turned my career around,โ he said.
โIf I hadnโt of got arrested, I reckon I would have played another year, done what I liked.
โNo one likes to be in trouble with the law but that was the biggest positive in my life cos it was my wake-up call.โ
