The player salary costs of match-loss injury and illness at an Australian Football League Club: A six-season retrospective cohort studyKey points
Background: The objective of this study was to quantify the salary costs of match-loss injuries and illnesses at a single professional AFL club. Methods: A retrospective cohort study involving male professional AFL players across a six-season period (2016–2021). Analysis of player injury and illness...
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772696725000183 |
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| author | Matthew R. Turnbull Tania F. Gallo Hannah E. Carter Michael Drew Liam A. Toohey Jocelyn Mara Gordon Waddington |
| author_facet | Matthew R. Turnbull Tania F. Gallo Hannah E. Carter Michael Drew Liam A. Toohey Jocelyn Mara Gordon Waddington |
| author_sort | Matthew R. Turnbull |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The objective of this study was to quantify the salary costs of match-loss injuries and illnesses at a single professional AFL club. Methods: A retrospective cohort study involving male professional AFL players across a six-season period (2016–2021). Analysis of player injury and illness data, and corresponding salary data, was performed with costs calculated using the human capital method. Results: There were 95 individual players across the six-seasons, with 79 unique diagnoses, 267 match-loss injuries or illnesses and 1130 matches missed. The total salary cost of match-loss injury and illness was AU$13.0 million across the period. Hamstring biceps femoris grade 1–2 strains had the highest proportion of these costs according to diagnosis (AU$1.3 million, 30 incidences, 10.0 % of total salary costs), followed by soleus strains (AU$1.1 million, 20 incidences, 8.7 %) and concussions (AU$1.1 million, 25 incidences, 8.4 %). Of the most frequent injuries, hamstring semimembranosus strains had the highest mean (SD) cost per injury occurrence at AU$139,988 (126,023), followed by knee anterior cruciate ligament injuries at AU$99,264 (105,086). Injury or illness costs as a proportion of the total salary spend across six seasons was 17 % (range 10 %–22 %). Conclusion: Match-loss injuries and illnesses incur a considerable financial cost relative to the player salary expenditure. This study may provide a costing model for sports businesses to utilise as an approach to inform resource allocation decisions, particularly in relation to injury management and prevention. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bff005f1e7c34524acec3d2e70eaf125 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2772-6967 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JSAMS Plus |
| spelling | doaj-art-bff005f1e7c34524acec3d2e70eaf1252025-08-20T03:45:11ZengElsevierJSAMS Plus2772-69672025-06-01510010410.1016/j.jsampl.2025.100104The player salary costs of match-loss injury and illness at an Australian Football League Club: A six-season retrospective cohort studyKey pointsMatthew R. Turnbull0Tania F. Gallo1Hannah E. Carter2Michael Drew3Liam A. Toohey4Jocelyn Mara5Gordon Waddington6University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise (UCRISE), Canberra, Australia; Corresponding author.Cricket Australia, Melbourne, AustraliaAustralian Centre for Health Services Innovation and Centre for Healthcare Transformation, School of Public Health and Social Work, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, AustraliaUniversity of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise (UCRISE), Canberra, AustraliaUniversity of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise (UCRISE), Canberra, AustraliaUniversity of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise (UCRISE), Canberra, AustraliaUniversity of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise (UCRISE), Canberra, Australia; Australian Institute of Sport, Bruce, AustraliaBackground: The objective of this study was to quantify the salary costs of match-loss injuries and illnesses at a single professional AFL club. Methods: A retrospective cohort study involving male professional AFL players across a six-season period (2016–2021). Analysis of player injury and illness data, and corresponding salary data, was performed with costs calculated using the human capital method. Results: There were 95 individual players across the six-seasons, with 79 unique diagnoses, 267 match-loss injuries or illnesses and 1130 matches missed. The total salary cost of match-loss injury and illness was AU$13.0 million across the period. Hamstring biceps femoris grade 1–2 strains had the highest proportion of these costs according to diagnosis (AU$1.3 million, 30 incidences, 10.0 % of total salary costs), followed by soleus strains (AU$1.1 million, 20 incidences, 8.7 %) and concussions (AU$1.1 million, 25 incidences, 8.4 %). Of the most frequent injuries, hamstring semimembranosus strains had the highest mean (SD) cost per injury occurrence at AU$139,988 (126,023), followed by knee anterior cruciate ligament injuries at AU$99,264 (105,086). Injury or illness costs as a proportion of the total salary spend across six seasons was 17 % (range 10 %–22 %). Conclusion: Match-loss injuries and illnesses incur a considerable financial cost relative to the player salary expenditure. This study may provide a costing model for sports businesses to utilise as an approach to inform resource allocation decisions, particularly in relation to injury management and prevention.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772696725000183Athletic injuriesFinancial costHealth economicsPrevention |
| spellingShingle | Matthew R. Turnbull Tania F. Gallo Hannah E. Carter Michael Drew Liam A. Toohey Jocelyn Mara Gordon Waddington The player salary costs of match-loss injury and illness at an Australian Football League Club: A six-season retrospective cohort studyKey points JSAMS Plus Athletic injuries Financial cost Health economics Prevention |
| title | The player salary costs of match-loss injury and illness at an Australian Football League Club: A six-season retrospective cohort studyKey points |
| title_full | The player salary costs of match-loss injury and illness at an Australian Football League Club: A six-season retrospective cohort studyKey points |
| title_fullStr | The player salary costs of match-loss injury and illness at an Australian Football League Club: A six-season retrospective cohort studyKey points |
| title_full_unstemmed | The player salary costs of match-loss injury and illness at an Australian Football League Club: A six-season retrospective cohort studyKey points |
| title_short | The player salary costs of match-loss injury and illness at an Australian Football League Club: A six-season retrospective cohort studyKey points |
| title_sort | player salary costs of match loss injury and illness at an australian football league club a six season retrospective cohort studykey points |
| topic | Athletic injuries Financial cost Health economics Prevention |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772696725000183 |
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