THE LIONS and Suns will no longer be the AFL’s poor cousins with head office to inject an extra $2.5m for them to match the rest of the competition on football department spending.

The extra money means the 2017 AFL season will be a level playing field for the first time.

It also gives the Lions the financial wherewithal to revamp their coaching panel at the end of the season.

The AFL has promised Brisbane its heaviest hitters will join the club in negotiations with the State Government and Brisbane City Council for the extra funding required to lock away their new base at the airport.

Round 18

However, it is the financial lifeline thrown to Queensland footy that was the most significant outcome of three days of meetings in Brisbane last week between the two clubs and the AFL Commission and its senior executive.

The AFL plans to give both the Lions and Suns the capacity to spend 100 per cent of the salary cap and the soft cap on football department spending.

Harris Andrews marks during the QClash between Gold Coast and Brisbane at Metricon Stadium. Picture: Adam Head Source: News Corp Australia

Brisbane were $1.2m and the Suns $1.3m under the $9.3m football department soft-cap this season. The Lions also did not pay the entire salary cap.

The salary cap currently stands at $10.37m but will increase significantly next season in the first year of the new $2.5b broadcast deal.

The AFL Players Association is campaigning for a fixed percentage of the game’s revenue, which would see a major increase in player salaries.

Suns chairman Tony Cochrane stressed there were no cast iron promises on funding figures as the collective bargaining agreement with the players had yet to be finalised.

But he said the Suns walked away from meetings convinced they would be more financially competitive next season.

“I was highly encouraged by the very positive approach the commission have towards the cost of our football departments and I think it will be a much fairer and more uniformed approach from next season, which can only be good for the whole competition,’’ he said.

“This will give a lot of heart to the supporters of not only the Gold Coast football club but also the fans of the Brisbane Lions as well with the challenges we face here in Queensland.’’

The Courier-Mail understands it is also the Commission’s intention to scrap the soft cap on footy spend in favour of a hard cap.

Currently the league’s richer clubs such as Collingwood and Hawthorn spend over the cap and pay a tax.

The AFL hopes to be able to announce its intention to equalise all clubs’ footy spend at a cost of about $14m once the CBA negotiations are finalised.

The proposal was raised by Lions CEO Greg Swann at the most recent CEO’s conference and received full support.