The AFL is prepared to reconsider the trade ban placed on the Sydney Swans.

The ban prevented the club from recruiting established players in this year's trade period, with the injunction to flow into next season as well.

The League has also acknowledged it made a mistake in the way it communicated the trade restrictions to the Swans, with AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan saying it should have been far more transparent.

"I'll take responsibility. I think it was poorly communicated," McLachlan told AFL.com.au's NAB Draft Countdown show on Thursday.

"And that was a bit in response to the Swans not wanting to communicate it (the ban) because they wanted to use maximum leverage going into that trade period.

"I think in retrospect we should've communicated that properly."

The League met with Swans officials on Thursday morning to discuss a potential softening of the trade ban.

The AFL put forward an ultimatum to the Swans that they would need to forgo the club's right to the controversial Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) if they wanted to be eligible to trade players in and out of the club.

The restriction also applied to the Swans' ability to recruit restricted and unrestricted free agents.

The Swans put forward the counter argument to the AFL that they needed to keep the COLA so that the club could properly honour players' contracts under the exisiting arrangement.

McLachlan said the issue was something the AFL needed to deliberate over.

"We have to accept it's a pretty black and white rule at the moment, but it's been well thought through over many meetings with the Swans," McLachlan said.

"If we can soften it and find a way that it actually works going forward, so it's a little less stark, then we'll do that."