THE AFL has signalled a crackdown on third-party deals, but Chris Judd's lucrative Visy deal will remain untouched.

The regulations will affect about 100 AFL players and may rule out any third-party deal to help Tom Scully remain at Melbourne.



AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said the rules on the controversial arrangements had been tightened.



"What we’re talking about here (Scully) is deals with associates or sponsors of clubs," Anderson said today. "Yes it (the third party rules) has changed.



"Ken Wood (the AFL investigations officer) has tightened the guidelines which means that any time there’s a third-party arrangement which is around the time of or in any way connected with a player staying with a club or not going, that will go in the salary cap."

Anderson, speaking today on Triple M, said third-party arrangements differed from deals struck between the AFL and players, such as Gold Coast's Karmichael Hunt and Greater Western Sydney's Israel Folau, with the league deals not included in the salary cap.



"The rules around what goes into the salary cap relate to sponsors of clubs, employment arrangements with clubs, not those organised by the AFL," he said. "Let’s deal with Hunt and Folau first – that’s not a third-party deal, that’s a deal with the AFL.



"There are a number of players throughout the competition who are paid money by the AFL to do things for the AFL or AFL sponsors. That never has been in the salary cap."

Judd signed his third-party deal with Visy, the paper recycling giant owned by then president Richrad Pratt, now deceased and was signed off on by the AFL.

But Anderson said today the rule was changed to ensure integrity of the salary cap.

"What the salary cap is about is what the club pays to a player, or what the club arranges for a player," Anderson said.



"In order to protect that, Ken Wood has tightened up the circumstances of these sorts of deals.



"If we allowed associates of clubs to pay players – any time they were at risk of losing a player, to pay extra money to that player to stay at the football club – then the salary cap becomes meaningless."



Anderson said the Demons were free to use the additional services agreements, as well as its normal salary payments, to entice Scully to stay.

"(Melbourne) is not being thwarted (in its bid to retain Scully) they have ability in their salary cap and ASA , a special marketing allowance, to pay a player like Tom Scully up to his market value should they so wish.



"So they do have space, and they can do it in their salary cap.



"The second point is the salary cap is not at technicality, the salary cap, along with the draft is one of our foundations to keep an even competition."



Anderson yesterday warned clubs they faced severe penalties for breaches of the salary cap.



AFL salary cap investigator Ken Wood now has full powers to knock back dubious deals.



Those under scrutiny include deals with people linked to a club, deals that help keep stars at their clubs and arrangements that could ensure they are prised loose from their club.



If Wood deems them unfair, the deals must be included in the salary cap as football payments, effectively neutralising their worth to a club.



Clothing company Cotton On tried to organise a deal to keep Gary Ablett in Geelong, but it appears it would not have been allowed.



Visy's deal with Judd, organised by then-president Dick Pratt and worth $200,000 or more a year, was ticked off under previous rules and is still considered legal.



The Blues have been told Visy can continue using Judd as an ambassador and paying him his yearly sum.



Anderson said Wood had power to decree deals fair or illegal.



"It's Ken's job," he said. "One of the factors he looks at is timing, so is it (at the same time as) a new contract? It's a key indicator.



"Who are the people offering the contract? Is the governance related in any way with the club? Is there a connection of any form with signing a new deal?" Anderson said.



"Ken has issued new guidelines in relation to that which make it quite clear that if it is related to them staying at their club or going to a new club it would be regarded as a football payment."



Anderson said Judd would not have to stop his deal with Visy.



"They were ticked off under previous arrangement before these guidelines were issued by Ken," he said.



He said the potential deal from Cotton On for Ablett last year had also been scrutinised.



Former Carlton president Ian Collins this week hit out at the salary cap penalties handed out in 2002, but Anderson says the league is ever-vigilant.



"I am not sure if we have stamped it out. We hope it's the case ... I don't think the AFL makes apologies for severe sanctions for systematic rorting of the salary cap, and any club which does go there can expect severe sanctions."



The league also said it would not change Brownlow eligibility yesterday despite Sam Mitchell being ruled out for taking only a reprimand for a hit on Geelong's Steve Johnson.



Originally published as AFL to clamp on outside deals