The Australian Football League has implemented a salary cap on its clubs since 1987, when Brisbane and West Coast were admitted, as part of its equalization policy designed to neutralize the ability of the richest and most successful clubs, Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon (and more recently Hawthorn), to perennially dominate the competition.
Following cuts to playing roster sizes and football department spending made due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these numbers differed to an extent, with the average AFL player wage in 2022 being $372,225.
Penalties for players, club officials or agents include fines of up to one-and-a half-times the amount involved and/or suspension.
Penalties for clubs include fines of up to triple the amount involved ($10,000 for each document that is late or incorrectly lodged or lost), forfeiture of draft picks, and/or deduction of premiership points (since 2003).
As of 2022, no club has been penalised for breaches of the salary floor regulations, and no punishment has included the deduction of premiership points.