For those who dismiss the A-League's marquee policy as a glitzy, short-term sugar hit we're mature enough to do without, think again. If the game is to grow in this country, it needs serious liquidity. And the quickest, most painless way to raise said funds? An increased television deal. With just two years left to run on the existing $40 million-per year contract – completed on the back of Del Piero, Ono and Emile Heskey arriving in a fantasy few weeks in 2012 – optimistic forecasts of doubling or even tripling that figure next time have been quelled. Inadvertently, the FFA revealed their position during the collective bargaining agreement negotiations with the Professional Footballers Australia, refusing to commit to a pay-rise for A-League players – unless it coincides with a better TV deal. How does the FFA get a better television contract? They sell hype and excitement. The ever-rising standard is one thing, but that's not what gets the juices flowing of network executives. They want names. Big names. Names you can sell a season around. Names that transform Sydney FC versus Newcastle from a bog-standard 13,000 crowd to a box-office 35,000, just as Del Piero single-handedly did in 2012.

Had Cahill signed for any A-League club this season, it would have been the single greatest gift FFA chief executive David Gallop could have hoped for. So transformative would the signing have been that Gallop could have strode into the boardroom at any commercial network and confidently spruiked the A-League's "must-watch" status both now and in years to come – and virtually named his price. Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber did exactly that in their last TV rights battle, scoring an eight-year deal worth US$90 million ($118.33 million) per year, almost four times the current A-League contract. Instead, the A-League, after a brief flurry of big names, is still sniffing for bargains. Of course, that's not all bad. Melbourne Victory have never lured a European megastar, instead acquiring elite A-League talent, returning Socceroos or developing from within.

It's an admirable model that has appealed to a market which likes the authentic and traditional. But it's not a universal lesson. Even Melbourne City can't afford a low-key approach any longer. In the crowded, competitive marketplace of NSW and Queensland – where most television executives are based – football can oscillate between number two and number four, depending on the mood. It's there the A-League could badly use some pulling power. So too could Perth Glory, for obvious reasons. Adelaide United and Wellington Phoenix deserve credit for building competitive on-field teams but their crowds, TV ratings and commercial appeal are short of where a marquee star would take them. The Reds had the right idea in chasing Luca Toni. While the yuan and dirhams of China and the Middle East go way beyond our dollar's pulling power, the real talking point is the pulsating magnet that is the MLS, the league ours is most often compared to. Stars now actively seek moves to America, safe in the knowledge that a shift across the Atlantic can actually help their profile and marketability, not to mention their bank balance. It's a win-win.

With a little more boldness and vision, much of their success could have been A-League's.