Essendon's whopping $9.8 million loss has laid bare the financial toll of their AFL supplements debacle.
A few hours after the AFL officially stripped Jobe Watson of his 2012 Brownlow Medal, the Bombers had even worse news on Tuesday night for their long-suffering fans.
They confirmed the huge financial hit, which has put them just over $9 million into debt.
Essendon said most of the loss relates directly or indirectly to January's Court of Arbitration of Sport verdict against 34 current and past players, including Watson.
CAS ruled against the players over doping charges related to the club's disastrous 2012 supplements regime.
The doping bans severely weakened Essendon's AFL side and they finished last.
Essendon chief executive Xavier Campbell said they had a unique set of challenges this season.
"While we’ve been stringent in our financial operations, a number of one-off costs severely impacted the financial result,” he added.
“Shortly after the CAS decision, the board and administration implemented serious measures to respond to these challenges, including a range of cost cutting measures and identifying greater efficiencies across the business.
“With the abnormal costs to our business now largely behind us, we are confident that our underlying business model, debt reduction plan and strategic priorities, will return Essendon to a position of strength in the coming years."
Essendon said the net additional cost of player compensation claims and legal fees was $4.5 million.
Additionally, they had to fork out $1.5 million for short-term player contracts so they could field an AFL team.
They also lost $3.1 million in reduced gate takings and other revenue.
Essendon took another hit of $806,000 as they wrote off assets at their old Windy Hill ground.
"We expect debt levels to peak during 2017 and our strong cash flows from normal operations will then allow us to begin paying down the debt," Campbell added.
“Despite these issues, we have taken a number of important steps to ensure a positive future for our club both on and off the field and I am confident we can now transition into a new era with a strong sense of optimism and purpose."
Essendon will welcome back most of their banned players next season, including Watson.
They will hold their annual general meeting on December 19.
