BRISBANE will miss out on a priority pick this season but could receive a $1.4 million cash injection to help it top up its football department spending.

The besieged Lions are riding a horror eight-game losing streak with coach Justin Leppitsch under the pump and the club debt rising.

But at the most recent meeting of club chief executives there was general consensus the AFL might bridge the gap between football department spending levels.

The Lions pay about $8 million, $1.4 million less than the $9.4 million football department cap instituted under equalisation measures.

The league told clubs it would cost $14 million to fund that gap across the competition’s 18 clubs with CEOs in agreement that was a priority.

It would allow clubs like Brisbane to hire extra development coaches, spend money on facilities and gain parity with the AFL’s power clubs.

Brisbane football director Leigh Matthews admitted “there’s a lot of things that are really not right about the Lions’ operation”.

The Lions have stemmed the bleeding after an exodus of players but many that left cited poor facilities and lack of coaches and development.

Brisbane chief executive Greg Swann said that financial remedy was the most likely off-field source of help from the AFL.

The Lions have a $13 million debt — roughly half of that borrowed from the AFL — with some believing the AFL should clear all club debt with its TV revenue windfall.

Brisbane hopes a run of late wins will mean it does not have to again submit a priority pick request to the AFL.

But the Herald Sun understands the AFL Commission believes priority picks are for extraordinary or tragic circumstances including the death of players.

It does not believe one or two poor years see a team qualify for an extra selection before the first round of the AFL draft.

Former Brisbane assistant Wayne Brittain hit out at Leppitsch and Swann, who inherited many of the issues when he arrived midway through 2014.

“Yeah, (Leppitsch is) definitely under pressure,” said Brittain on SEN radio.

“I don’t find it unfair because the team is very much performing poorly, but the whole club is performing poorly, it’s not just Justin Leppitsch that should be under pressure.

“Greg Swann should be under enormous pressure as well, their club’s just running at a massive loss, they’ve got no corporate support and their facilities are average.

“It shouldn’t just be Leppa copping the flack up here.”