Geelong were controversially awarded the same compensation for free agent Steven Motlop as the Brisbane Lions received for Tom Rockliff partly because of the one-year age difference between the pair.

Motlop, who surprisingly earned the Cats an end-of-first-round choice (pick 18), just scraped into the same compensation ‘‘band’’ as Rockliff, who was paid close to $100,000 a season more than the ex-Cat over the same period and whose salary nearly delivered the Lions pick No.2 in the 2017 national draft.

Geelong's compensation for losing Steven Motlop was controversial. Credit:AAP

The Motlop decision was made on the basis of a secret formula that The Age can reveal in detail – the so-called ‘‘secret herbs and spices’’ which also renders the length of contract largely irrelevant to the draft pick that teams get for losing a free agent.

Key components of the compensation system include:

■A free agent paid $2 million over two years will be ranked higher on the compensation table than one who is paid $3.5 million over four years. The length of contract is only a ‘‘tie-breaker’’ if annual salary is equal to another player. The contract must be at least two years.