As the demands placed upon inter-county GAA players increase, Kieran Donaghy insists that a degree of compensation for their time and effort ought to be forthcoming.
"This isn't professionalism," insisted Kieran Donaghy on Wednesday's OTB AM.
"However, inter-county players are basically spending 10 or 11 months putting 30-hours per week into this, and the days of the 'soft jobs' are gone."
A few years removed from his own inter-county playing career with Kerry, Kieran Donaghy has repeatedly vocalised his concerns regarding the treatment of players versus the growing expectations put upon them.
It has now reached a point where he believes change must be forthcoming.
"We're filling Croke Park with concerts and big games," he outlined, "and there's massive revenue coming in.
"I think there could be some arrangement between Croke Park and the Irish Revenue about something they could do for amateur players.
"This is nothing to do with going professional. It would simply mean that you could play your game, put the effort in and tell your partner at home with the two kids every night, 'When I retire in two-years there's going to be a bit of a kick-back for us."
The question of compensation, in one form or another, remains a point of great interest within the GAA, with a certain proportion firmly against the suggestion of any move toward professionalism by any other name.
However, as the demands of playing inter-county football and hurling grow, the prospect of employment beyond the seasonal convenient sector of primary and secondary school teaching becomes increasingly difficult.
In drawing on the question of tax breaks for GAA players, Donaghy's suggestion brings to light the possibility of an alignment between them and their professional counterparts.
Currently, the Irish Revenue’s Sportsperson tax relief scheme allows for a 40% retention of the athlete's 10 best years of earnings upon their retirement from the sport.
"What would this mean for the average GAA player," asked Donaghy, "probably that when they finish playing they might have enough to put a deposit on a house.
"We have GAA players going to college now for years and years where they can live the professional lifestyle of a sports person.
"At the end of the day though, they're not making any money for themselves.
"If they get a bad injury and have to retire, they've basically no financial standing to go and buy a house, or whatever."
Be it through an arrangement with the GAA or, as Donaghy suggested, the Irish government, what is being put in by players must be rewarded beyond the possibility of on-field success.
You can watch back Kieran Donaghy's OTB AM interview in its entirety here.
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