TASMANIA will be forced to trade six of its 11 first-round draft picks across its first three years in the AFL, with the Devils also given a signing bonus pool of $5 million to attract stars from rival clubs.
The League’s start-up rules were confirmed by the Commission last week and released on Wednesday, with the Devils given a suite of list build concessions ahead of their proposed entry to the AFL in 2028.
As revealed by AFL.com.au in May, the Devils will be handed picks No.1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13, and the first selection of each subsequent round in their first draft, which is set to be in 2027.
Four of those picks – No.5, 7, 11 and 13 – come with the caveat they need to be used in trades.
In their second and third drafts, the Devils will be handed fixed picks No.5 and 9 in both years, which are on top of the club’s regular first-round selection, as well as the first selection in each subsequent round in addition to their natural draft hand. In both of those years, the pick No.5s will have the caveat they must be traded.
Tasmania will have two years to attract up to 18 uncontracted players as ‘free agents’ from rival clubs, with a maximum of one player per club.
Clubs that lose uncontracted players to Tasmania via this concession will be given compensation picks in return, in a new model that will see clubs given one or more ‘floating’ picks where the club can choose which draft year they fall in.
The other key parts of the Devils’ list build rules include:
A sign-on bonus fund of $5 million that will sit outside the salary cap, to be used by the Devils in their first two years to land big names, with a maximum spend of $3 million in either year;
Four mini-draft selections over two years to on-trade access to star 17-year-olds for following drafts;
Access to pre-list draft talents in their 17th year, spread across two years;
Access to Tasmanian prospects from two years before the club’s entry year, with the players able to bypass drafts and play in the state league team;
Priority access to Tasmanian prospects as Academy players, similar to the Northern Academy model, with the ability to pre-list eligible Academy players for the first four years before the AFL reviews the club’s access;
Access to pre-list players who have previously nominated for the national draft but have not been selected or are not currently AFL listed;
Access to players as father-sons if their father was born in Tasmania and played at least 100 AFL games.
A flexible list size for the Devils’ first five AFL seasons, allowing up to 48 players on the list until their fourth year before reverting to regular levels by their sixth season.
The list concessions given to the Devils will be subject to review and change by the AFL, given they were designed and ratified before the League’s father-son and Academy bidding system underwent further change.
As AFL.com.au revealed last week, the clubs were told that the AFL has decided against a ‘lockout’ system but will bring in significant tightening of the bidding system for 2026, including a cap of two draft picks that can be used to match a bid, the draft value index changing, the removal of the 10 per cent discounts and a grading system depending on ladder finishing position.
But the AFL has given the Devils multiple years to be able to trade the picks, meaning if they cannot find deals in the respective years of those picks, they can ‘roll and trade’ them within the next two national drafts.
