Big things are set for this CFL season. The Ottawa RedBlacks are beginning their debut season, new stadiums in Hamilton and Ottawa and the league's $40 million-a-year television contract with TSN starts this summer.
Tuesday evening was the CFL draft. The seven-round event determined the future for 65 prospects entering the league.
Following an announcement Tuesday morning, the more than 400 players in the league may also have to reconsider their future.
The CFL Players' Association released a statement Tuesday morning suggesting their players vote to strike when the collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players expires May 30, the day before training camps were set to open. Negotiations, according to Sportsnet's Arash Madani, have been ongoing since February with no progress being made.
It's a brilliant power move by the CFLPA to release the internal memo so close to the draft after it was distributed to players last week. With the eyes of CFL fans searching for news or rumours about who their team is targeting in the upcoming draft, they will surely find this news floating around online.
The knowledge creates more leverage for the CFLPA as there will now be pressure from fans to make sure the deal gets done. A majority of the league's revenue comes from ticket sales and television revenue. If there are no games, then there are no tickets to be sold and nothing to be televised. The idea behind waiting the Players' Association out was to make players fear the loss of pay cheques. But can the league afford to lose ticket sales and money from their TV contract?
One of the contentions is based around a fixed salary cap the league is proposing. Madani reported the proposed salary cap for the 2014 season would be $4.5 million and raising slightly until it reaches $5 million in 2021. The CFLPA maintains their position on having the salary cap being tied to revenue, calling the league's refusal to do so "unreasonable."
But is it that unreasonable? Having a salary cap tied to the profitability makes sense. It allows the league to grow naturally. The league can only grow now that TSN lost the national broadcasting rights to the NHL to Rogers. TSN will be looking for Canadian content to put on their network. Why can't that be the CFL?
There are still two meetings scheduled for the end of the week, hoping to make some traction in negotiations before camps start. American players are already working their way back up to their respective teams. If the CFLPA decides to hold a vote to strike, it will have to happen soon to avoid players heading north for no season.
If the league does strike, where will it impact the most? The loss of games will not be felt as strongly in the East Division. Two of the southern Ontario teams, the Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, are often losing money. Toronto fans will have other options during the season. The Blue Jays are always there for fans to throw their support behind. The rise of Toronto FC support after the signings of Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley can make supporters of the double blue change their colours to red and white.
In Hamilton, the launch of their new stadium would be postponed after great fanfare two years ago in Ivor Wynne Stadium's final season. The team spent a year in Guelph as their new home was being built.
The slow build to the debut of the RedBlacks will be move to a glacial pace. Any momentum gained from the unveiling of a mascot, uniforms and home schedule will disappear if labour negotiations aren't wrapped up quickly.
Teams from the West Division will have a larger hole to fill, with the Saskatchewan Roughriders being a prime example. Since I moved to Saskatchewan, the support for the Roughriders has blown me away. During my first week in the province, which also happened to be the week prior to the Grey Cup, a provincial-wide green day was declared. When the Riders hosted a hockey game to benefit Battlefords Minor Football, there was a larger turnout than the crowd for most North Stars games. Lines wrapped around BMO Pitch in the NationsWEST Field House when the team brought the Grey Cup to the Battlefords.
There is still time to salvage a season as the first week of the regular season kicks off June 26 when the Argonauts travel to Winnipeg to take on the Blue Bombers. A Grey Cup rematch is also featured in Week 1 of the season.
However, if reports are accurate, there is a large gap between the CFL and the CFLPA. While fans should be focusing on the excitement of players finding where their futures lie in the CFL, the thoughts of a potential strike will be in the back of their minds.
