Who would the 20th team be? The NT?
Possibly, but there's another idea I think could work as well.
Form a 20th team called the Barbarians, made up of players from around Australia not in the AFL system.
Every season, the day after the draft you have a televised announcement of the Barbarians listing their players. Kids passed over in the draft, country football stars, state league players etc......
Each player is on a base wage and the rest of the cap is distributed purely on a bonus basis, for wins, finals, individual performance etc....
The Barbarians have no home ground, so not stadiums required, instead they play 19 away games each season. Club members could buy a ticket to watch the Barbarians for $10. Base them out of the an existing high performance facility for training. The idea would be they would become everyones second team, catch the imagination of the public with the stories involved and provide a showcase for talent otherwise lost to the game.
Gives the competition an even season, 19 rounds, play everyone once with a bye week which contains a state of origin competition based on promotion/relegation each year and a trial game for the following season's Barbarians. Teams 7-10 play of for the final two spots in finals during pre finals bye, then a normal final 8.
Solves competition equality issues, gives the broadcasters 21 weeks of full broadcast schedule plus finals and doesn't have the costs of establishing a full 20th team.
You're welcome Gil, I'll expect a call re the CEO job.