Lions footy boss open to cap on six-year-plus mega deals

Brisbane football manager Danny Daly has weighed in on long-term signings, suggesting that contract talks are becoming increasingly strategic to ensure players stay put at their clubs.

Kane Cornes has been among those questioning monster deals, particularly pointing at Clayton Oliver’s seven-year deal at Melbourne and Noah Balta’s recently penned seven-year extension at the Tigers.

Daly admitted that the current market is built on ensuring other clubs don’t out-bid you. But he maintains that the Lions remain diplomatic amid the high-pressure environment.

“You have to be a bit strategic and careful about offering four or five years, because potentially players will leave and go elsewhere for seven,” Daly told AFL Trade Radio.

“As a football club, when you have a player, you start at the four or five-year mark, then you get hit with other clubs willing to offer six or seven years.

“Six or seven years is not something that we offer up straight away. We like to be diplomatic about it all and fair for both parties, so it’s generally four or five.

“But that’s the market and that’s what you have to do, or you potentially lose one or two players.”

Daly also weighed in on Cornes’ idea to cap contract extensions to five years, admitting the Brisbane Lions would back the idea in.

“100% we would be open to that. We would be willing to be part of that discussion and negotiation,” Daly said on AFL Trade Radio.

“I think that would straighten everyone up to be fair.

“But as it stands now no one is doing anything wrong by offering these six or seven-year contracts.

“That’s the world we live in, so we just have to live with it.”