The AFL Players Association has written to the AFL asking whether the trade ban placed on Sydney is reversible, believing it may cost some players their careers.
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New AFLPA chief executive Paul Marsh contacted the league late last week, after it was revealed the Swans had been told they could not trade players into the club this year or next unless the club immediately stopped paying the cost of living allowance.
The club - also banned from recruiting restricted or unrestricted free agents - is unable to stop paying COLA given the money is written into players' contracts during the two-year phase out.
Marsh reiterated his concern that the players had not been consulted ahead of such a significant decision, given the AFL's decision could make it harder for players to either leave Sydney or join the club.
"This may cost players their careers, and that's why we're so concerned about the lack of consultation," Marsh told The Age.
"You might have players sitting outside Sydney's best 22, looking for opportunities elsewhere, and a club that isn't happy to trade them just to receive draft picks.
"It also creates a situation where a player looking to play in Sydney suddenly has one of two options removed because the club can't bring them in.
"Some of the people I've spoken to have some concerns for the guys at the bottom of the Sydney list, and as I'm finding out very quickly there can be some unintended consequences when you're making decisions about what's a pretty complex labour market."
While Sydney is unlikely to be affected by the ban this year, despite not being able to replace the departing Nick Malceski with another high-quality player, the Swans could have their hands tied at the end of next season should one of their star players ask to be traded out.
The club will continue to talk to the AFL about whether the decision can be reversed, and Marsh said the players would do likewise.
"There's not a lot of time left in this particular trade period, so my concerns around the timing of this decision I think are legitimate," he said.
"If this had come up six months ago we could have played out all the 'what if?' scenarios and we wouldn't be dealing with this in real time, which we are now.
"I want to get an understanding of why we weren't consulted, whether there's any opportunity for flexibility in individual circumstances and whether this is something that can be reversed.
"I don't know whether the non-consultation was an oversight or whether the AFL's view was that they didn't need to consult with us, so I need to get an understanding of that before anything else."
