Draft systems in professional team sports and the restraint of trade doctrine: is the AFL draft distinguishable from the NSWRL draft?

When the New South Wales Rugby League ("NSWRL") implemented a draft system in 1990 it was successfully challenged by the players in Adamson v NSWRL. This article examines this decision, though it should be noted that the rules of the NSWRL draft are no longer in operation. The Australian Football League ("AFL"), however, has continued to use ils draft system and it is argued that the AFL draft rules are much fairer on the players than the rules previously used by the NSWRL. This is because while the AFL draft does initially restrict a player's choice of employer, this is only true for the first two years. At the end of that period the rules provide players with some genuine bargaining power to help them choose the employer of their choice. It is suggested therefore that the AFL draft is distinguishable from the draft system once used by the NSWRL that was declared invalid by the courts. There are still problems with the AFL draft in that clubs are able to initiate the trade of players without the player's consent, but it is suggested that this can be solved by the introduction of a consent clause. It is also suggested that the restrictive nature of the draft can be reduced by the\ud introduction of a limited form of free agency for players who have been playing for a certain period of time and/or played a certain number of games