THE scene has been set for a protracted and potentially ugly pay stoush between players and the AFL after the players’ union formally sought a percentage of the game’s revenue.

Negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement kicked off late last week when AFL executives Andrew Dillon, Ray Gunston and Mark Evans met with AFL Players Association boss Paul Marsh and his deputies Brett Murphy and James Gallagher.

The AFLPA pushed for but failed to achieve a percentage deal in what became a bitter pay war with then AFL boss Andrew Demetriou in 2011.

The Herald Sun understands the AFL remains opposed to the percentage model it sees as cumbersome and difficult to manage on a year-by-year basis.

There are also concerns about what — if any — revenue should be excluded from the model with potential sticking points over contra, government grants and low-margin revenue.

Parties to the negotiations hope a deal may be struck before the end of the season, although it is believed the AFLPA is still waiting for the league’s full financial forecasts.

The industry will be awash with cash after signing a $2.5 billion broadcast deal running for six years from next season.

But the AFL remains committed to a 20-year investment model instigated by Gunston and will not rush through a deal with the players until other funding needs are also clear.

Camera Icon AFL football operations manager Mark Evans. Credit: News Corp Australia, Keryn Stevens Camera Icon AFLPA CEO Paul Marsh. Credit: News Corp Australia, Wayne Ludbey

Club sustainability, infrastructure and engaging the next generation of fans not necessarily born into the footy culture remain high on the league’s to-do list.

Players are expected to put the case that they currently receive only about 22-23 per cent of industry revenue — less than sports such as cricket, which pays about 26 per cent.

Professional sportsmen in privately owned US team sports earn up to half the revenue generated by their respective games.

Other factors central to negotiations will be the short lifespan of an AFL career; the prospect of leaving the game with long-term injuries and the increasing on and off-field demands of the modern game.

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Funnelling more money into the players’ retirement and injury funds are issues also expected to be high on the agenda.

Marsh favoured the percentage model when boss of the Australian Cricketers’ Association until taking over at the AFLPA in 2014.

This year’s pay talks have already seen a split in the ranks of player agents with Craig Kelly, one of footy’s most powerful figures, declaring at a meeting of 40 agents at Victoria Park last month that players should take the strike option off the table.

The AFLPA has this year signed more than 180 female players and will bargain with the AFL for a pay and conditions deal before the historic first national women’s competition is launched early next year.