Fremantle’s Mason Cox has delivered a blistering critique of the AFL’s leadership, backing Geelong coach Chris Scott’s ‘cash grab’ assessment of the new Wildcard Round concept and claiming players and coaches are being denied their fair share of the league’s massive profits.
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Speaking on the Red Time podcast ahead of Gather Round, Cox did not hold back on the league’s decision to expand the finals series, labelling the introduction of a 10-team finals qualification format as “absurd”.
The American-born star’s comments follow a public sledge from Scott, who on Monday questioned the validity of the Wildcard concept.
“This is why I shouldn’t do this so close to the game, I speak my mind … I tend to think they just made it (wildcard round) up. Just threw in a couple more finals for no good reason except cash,” Scott said on Fox Footy.
Cox also suggested the league’s expansion of the fixture is driven by a desire for revenue over the best interests of the game’s players and coaches.
“There’s no hiding from that whatsoever,” Cox said of the cash-grab labels. “I think we all know that is the reasoning the Wildcard exists. Same thing with Gather Round, they implemented two new rounds and weekends of games over a five-year period. It’s cheeky, but there’s no hiding from that.”
Beyond the schedule, Cox took aim at the financial distribution within the sport. While the AFL is continuing to record large figures in the post-COVID era, the 11-year veteran argued that players and staff are being left behind.
“The players and coaches aren’t getting their fair share of that money, and everyone is very well aware of that,” Cox said. “You look at percentage revenue of what we get comparatively to other sports around the world, and it is close to half.”
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Cox specifically highlighted the soft cap (the limit on football department spending) which remains below pre-pandemic levels despite the league’s revenue increase.
“There are so many things that the AFL hasn’t come back to, whether it’s the soft cap to be able to pay the coaches and everything else… that hasn’t gone back to where it was pre-COVID although they’re making more money than they were. Things just don’t line up that just p— off the players and coaches.”
The Wildcard Round, which allows teams finishing as low as 10th to compete for a top-eight berth, has been a common pain point for sport’s traditionalists. Cox echoed those concerns, pointing to the lopsided ratio of teams now eligible for September action.
“There’s 10 teams in it, and 18 teams in the league, it’s absurd,” he said.
Cox praised Chris Scott for his willingness to challenge the league head-on, despite the AFL effectively acting as his employer.
“I appreciate honesty,” Cox said. “I rate it, Chris Scott just being like, ‘You know what? You may be my employer, but I’m gonna call you out for the stuff that you’re doing because it affects how I do my job’.
“They don’t ask for our opinion whenever they make decisions. They ask for it after the fact and then try to negotiate some kind of contract to be able to make us happy and then shut us up.”
