- Geelong star is also president of the AFL Players Association
- Admits his idea to change the AFL is going to attract outrage
Geelong star and AFL Players Association president Patrick Dangerfield has called on the league to cut the length of games in a move he freely admits will result in ‘outrage’.
The 34-year-old is backing the idea because fans’ attention spans are going down – and because he believes cutting the length of quarters will drive up demand, increase revenue and see players earn more.
‘As audiences [sic] attention span reduces the debate will continue with the AFL quarter lengths. It’s Time to reduce them. – cue outrage,’ he wrote on Thursday in response to NBA commissioner Adam Silver suggesting the American basketball league could reduce the length of quarters from 12 minutes to 10.
‘Now I’ve heard the ‘record ratings attendance argument. Less game less play BLA BLA BLA,’ he wrote in a follow-up tweet.
‘It’s simple supply and demand. Reduce the supply and the demand goes up. Sponsors and salary follow.
‘NBA has an oversupply. NFL have nailed the supply and demand and I’m not sure we [the AFL] have.’
Geelong star and AFL Players Association president Patrick Dangerfield wants the AFL to cut the length of quarters
Dangerfield (pictured with wife Mardi) believes the move is a must because of what he sees as fans’ dwindling attention spans
The Cats premiership-winner appears to have been spurred on by NBA commissioner Adam Silver suggesting the American basketball league should shorten its games
He backed that up with a third tweet reading: ‘It’s clear everyone agrees the game is far too long and must be reduced. Finally something we can all agree on.’
Quarters in AFL matches currently last for 20 minutes, plus time on, which is added for stoppages in play such as a player getting injured or the ball going out of bounds.
Dangerfield did not specify how much time he would like to see cut from games.
His suggestion that fans are prompting the move because they cannot concentrate on the game for long periods didn’t go over well online, with most commenters shooting down his idea.
‘If it’s all about attention spans (I’d like to the studies or some actual proof), then shorten the breaks and reduce the unnecessary in game delays,’ one wrote.
‘If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,’ another said.
‘So if the game reduces by say 20% will you take a 20% pay cut for it? Wouldn’t of thought so,’ added a third.
‘If ticket prices, player contracts, coaches contracts, streaming prices etc are also reduced then sure,’ a fan commented.
‘My attention span is extraordinary. Will never forget the last 150 seconds of last year’s prelim,’ another said, referring to Geelong’s nail-biting loss to Brisbane in the match that would’ve seen them make the grand final if they’d won.
One of the attractions of AFL for advertisers is the fact the game has more opportunities for commercial breaks because there are plenty of goals scored compared to tries in the NRL or rugby union.
Dangerfield’s idea didn’t go over well with footy fans, who seemed offended at his remark about their ability to concentrate
That’s an important factor in the league’s favour when new TV and streaming broadcast deals are negotiated.
Reducing the amount of time played would obviously lessen the number of goals scored.
It’s not the first time Dangerfield has promoted a radical change to the AFL.
Just after the 2023 season he proposed the introduction of a mid-season trade period – something he had previously campaigned for – after once again being inspired by the NBA.
‘Given the NBA trade deadline and the extraordinary interest in it. Is it time to introduce a mid season trade period in the AFL. Helps rebuilding clubs, teams often pay overs to acquire talent. Players in the AFL always have the final say and are never traded without consent,’ he wrote on X.
His tweet was accompanied by a poll asking whether fans supported the idea. It attracted almost 7000 votes, 63.4 per cent of which backed Dangerfield’s plan.
