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Geelong captain and AFL Players Association president Patrick Dangerfield has declared it’s “time to shorten” quarters, adamant that record ratings and attendances wouldn’t be impacted by saying “reduce the supply and the demand goes up”.
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The 2025 AFL season is the first of the league’s most lucrative broadcasting deal ever having secured $4.5bn over seven years with Foxtel and the Seven Network.
But in responding to an interview in which NBA commissioner Adam Silver suggested NBA quarters could be reduced by two minutes — a move applauded by Australian basketball great Andrew Bogut — Dangerfield said the idea should be applied to the AFL.
“As audiences attention span reduces the debate will continue with the AFL quarter lengths. It’s Time to reduce them. – cue outrage,” he posted on X.
“Now I’ve heard the “record ratings attendance” argument. Less game less pay BLA BLA BLA. 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 have.”
The NFL only has 16 rounds of the regular season before a month’s worth of playoffs leading to the Super Bowl.
This season, the AFL will have four games across the “Opening round” for the second time before 24 home-and-away rounds, stretched from March to the end of August, and a month of finals.
Dangerfield, as boss of the players’ union, has long been an advocate for lessening the workload on players who get two byes during the season and a week of rest before the finals start.
But shortening quarters, which sit at 20 minutes plus time on and can run to as long as 34 minutes depending on several factors, could also help reduce injuries.
— NCA NewsWire
