"I'm confident we've put forward a compelling proposal, given where we got to in early July," said APL chief executive Steve Rosich. The APL said it had previously agreed to 52 of 53 items with the PFA, but the ALW salary cap was the sole sticking point. The fresh attempt to strike a deal contained no suggestion of alterations to the ALM salary cap or the number of allocations for marquee player contracts. Marquee deals sit outside the salary cap of $2.6m. Rosich was also keen to strike a longer-term deal, after being asked to provide a one-year CBA arrangement for the 2026-27 season.