Even if Geelong had filed Jake Kolodjashnij's concussion waiver, the AFL says it wouldn't have been approved.
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The Cats have been fined $140,000 for not lodging the paperwork with the league.
That includes a suspended penalty of $40,000, which stems from the league fining the club last October after an investigation into their third-party agreements.
Geelong's board and management were cleared of wrongdoing. That includes AFL chairman Craig Drummond, who was Cats president two years ago when the agreement was struck with Kolodjashnij, and club chief executive Steve Hocking.
The waiver, which only came to light because of a media report earlier this month, prompted the league to commission an investigation by James Peters KC.
His findings were made public on Wednesday. The AFL and players' association immediately announced they would review the game's concussion framework, given the issues raised by the controversy.
"Geelong had a big call to make in relation to Jake Kolodjashnij's future and they did almost everything right," AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said.
"They consulted widely with the AFL, doctors, lawyers, insurers and, importantly, Jake himself and his representatives.
"What they did wrong was not lodge a variation of the agreement with the AFL, which is required."
Dillon was grilled in his media conference about the waiver itself.
"If it takes away from the minimum terms and conditions that have been bargained for by the players' association, then (it) won't get passed," Dillon said.
"At the moment, under the collective agreement, it can't happen and it won't happen."
Kolodjashnij has not played since the story broke, but returned to club training this week.
Asked if the 2022 Cats premiership defender had played his last AFL game, Dillon said "I don't know that".
In a separate media conference on Wednesday, Drummond apologised and said there was "never any intention" from Geelong to conceal the waiver agreement.
He added it was a decision by Cats management, rather than their board, to not submit it to the league.
"It's not the board's role to lodge documents or arrange where the documents end up going," he said.
"Management clearly made a decision not to lodge the document. It was clearly a conscious decision, because they didn't feel that they needed to lodge the document.
"Management's view at the time was that they didn't need to lodge the documentation - that's my understanding.
"The AFL is saying 'no' and the KC is saying 'no' - it is the definition of what a playing contract is, is my understanding."
In a statement, Geelong acknowledged they should have lodged the letter in question with the AFL and the players' association.
"The independent review concluded there was no intention to conceal the letter or to breach the AFL Rules," current Cats president Grant McCabe said.
"We accept in hindsight the letter constituted a variation of Jake's playing contract and that it should have been lodged with the AFL and AFLPA."
When the controversy was revealed, Drummond removed himself from the AFL commission's oversight of the investigation.
He said he only saw the findings on Tuesday night.
"I wasn's concerned that I'd done anything wrong. The KC opinion confirms, no adverse findings against either the Geelong management or Geelong board," Drummond said.
He added the circumstances around Kolodjashnij, who has had several concussions, are "unique".
"To have at least part of his medical record disclosed publicly ... is very unfair," Drummond said.
"These are very complex and challenging issues around head trauma and concussion, and it is the No.1 priority of the AFL."
The review found Geelong had given careful and detailed consideration to the risk of Kolodjashnij continuing to play, after an inconclusive outcome from his assessment by the AFL concussion panel.
"The review found Geelong breached AFL rules by entering into an unauthorised variation to a player's contract and failing to lodge that document with the AFL and AFLPA," commissioner Paul Bassat said in a statement.
"The health and safety of our players is our highest priority and the commission is satisfied it was central to the decisions made by Geelong.
"While the review found no intention to conceal the document or deceive the AFL or AFLPA, the commission determined the rules were breached and that a significant sanction was warranted."
Bassat added that clubs are expected to comply with the rules and processes designed to protect players and the integrity of the game.
"It is clear this incident goes beyond the breach of lodgement rules, and has raised broader issues to do with informed consent in playing contact sport and the paramount responsibilities for players' health and safety," Bassat said.
The deal reached in 2024 required Kolodjashnij to take all legal responsibility for future brain trauma, so he could keep playing at the club.