Gillon McLachlan, the chief executive of the Australian Football League Aussie rules league, has raised concerns about a proposed deal that would lead to opposing coaches holding joint press conferences after games.
Mark Brayshaw, the chief executive of the AFL Coaches’ Association, has held talks over the deal with Ben Buckley, the head of the Fox Footy channel, which is operated by the Fox Sports pay-television broadcaster.
The potential deal, which is believed to be the first of its kind in world sport, could be worth up to A$500,000 (€357,000/$391,000) per year.
However, the Age newspaper said that McLachlan (pictured) raised a number of reservations about the proposal in a “heated conversation” with Brayshaw.
Several senior coaches have said that they would be unhappy with the move, with clubs also reportedly contacting the AFL to express their displeasure that a portion of potential AFL media-rights revenue could be sold off. It is understood that the rights fees for the proposed deal would be committed directly to a fund for retired coaches, rather than the clubs.
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said: "There's enough fragmentation of the footy income without the coaches' union jumping in and getting involved. I wouldn't have thought at Collingwood we would be selling our intellectual property to the coaches' association.”
Brayshaw has written to all 18 AFL clubs to seek their support for the deal.
Brayshaw told the Footy Feed news service that the "overwhelming majority" of coaches supported the agreement. “It would be a very lucrative sponsorship for us and we're navigating our way through the regulations,” Brayshaw said.