LEIGH Matthews, in his weekly column on afl.com.au this week, articulated with great clarity the key issues facing the AFL Players' Association as it attempts to negotiate a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Leigh's observation of an arms race in uncapped football department spending hasn't been lost on the players.

"From 2006 to 2010, total payments by clubs to players increased from $128m to $158m (23 per cent), while other football department spending increased from $65m to $105m (61 per cent). In 2010 alone, player payments increased by $3.6m, and other football department spending increased by $10.2m."

I agree that placing a cap on department spending (coaching salaries, sports science, player recruitment) may not be the answer, although again Leigh makes an interesting point: "Would the footy spectacle be worse off if we miraculously took say $1m out of the non-player football department spent at each club and added it to the salary cap? I think not."

Put simply, I'm sure that Dane Swan, Darren Jolly and co. would have been be just as happy to rehabilitate themselves at the Westpac Centre as they were to embark on their mid-season trip to Arizona, which equates to an extra $50,000 per year in salary across their careers.

Players are thought to be losing a public-relations battle here, with the average family that buys its membership and goes to the footy already believing that, with an average wage of $250,000, AFL players are excessively paid.

But I feel that most supporters accept that football is now a business and sympathise with the fact that players' wages are not in alignment with the overall growth of the game.

More and more people are beginning to realise just how lucky you need to be to have an extended AFL career; less than 4 per cent of players make it past 200 games.

Injury has always been accepted as a part of the game, but there aren't many workplaces where you can lose a kidney, as Tom Lonergan did, face an early retirement due to multiple fractures, like those that tragically ended Matthew Egan’s career, or be forced to fuse your ankle joint following a horrific break, like Jason Snell was required to do, effectively preventing him from ever running again.

All three are recent players with Geelong - a team which has supposedly had a great run with injury.

At the relatively short peak of their careers, AFL players can earn good money, but the single-minded focus required of elite sportsmen can leave them poorly prepared for what comes next.

Players will often find their income drop from $300,000 in their last year of playing to $50,000 in their first job outside the AFL.

Interestingly it was Andrew Demetriou in 1988 who, as CEO of the AFL Players' Association, set up the players' retirement fund.

Every year a player would set aside up to $14,000 of his earnings, which would then be paid in a lump sum 12 months after his retirement. It was initially capped at $120,000.

For many of us recently retired players, it was a great bonus to help our transition into the "real world".

Current Players' Association CEO Matt Finnis is looking to take this one step further, and his idea of an annuity scheme for retired players is a brilliant one.

His plan is to cap the 12 months retirement fund at $90,000 and then set aside a pool of money that will give AFL players a monthly stream of income right through to the retirement age of 65.

Payment would begin at 35-years-of-age, or 10 years after your playing career has ended, with a ten-year player receiving up to $20,000 a year. It would be of great comfort to Brendan Fevola and his young family to know that despite all his poor choices, 10 years in the game would reward him with a steady income stream.

The idea of a players' strike makes a good headline but in reality it serves no one - least of all the players - and there is almost zero chance of it happening.

However, industrial relations laws over recent years do provide some legitimate options for players to pursue. In another sign of unity, and for the first time ever, all 700 players will link up around the country next Wednesday to discuss how best to proceed.

It was interesting to be part of the whole process in 2006 and to sit alongside Brendon Gale and Matt Finnis as a player representative during the negotiations for the last Collective Bargaining Agreement.

There was a significant amount of robust debate, as you would expect for something as important as this. In order to attract the greatest athletes in the country, the best result for all concerned would be for the players to receive the maximum amount the game can afford.

Common sense will prevail and I’m sure a deal will be struck without the need for drastic action.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL