Colin Unger

I don't see the league going for that especially in an era where half the league is a free agent every year.

That's over the course of 3 years. http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/24076702/alliance-american-football-players-get-3-year-250k-contracts

Not convinced that start players would make more there. Star players in the CFL get paid pretty good and they can make money off the whole CFL season.. I believe that by the time a CFL player becomes a free agent on Feb 15 they've already lost out on a significant portion of the AAF salary. So they are looking at maybe making 50-70k in the aaf and a star player in the CFL can typically command above 150k.

He was basically the Darian Durant of CFL owners.

I can definitely see where the CFLPA has an issue currently with a cap that is designed around the lowest teams in terms of revenue and no revenue sharing model like in other leagues.

I Id also like to see some form of compensation when you draft a Canadian in the first round and the player leaves as a free-agent after just 2 seasons. Depending on the quality of the guy there could be a compensation system similar to MLB.

Im in favor of whatever gets Bighill back here!

One thing I'd like to see added to the CBA is some form of guaranteed contracts. It would need to be optional and maybe players would have to be in the league for X number of years to qualify. It could be beneficial. Some players would take less money for the guaranteed bucks which could work out well for both player and team. It could also help to keep top QB's from trying the NFL. If you could offer Bo a 4 year deal for 2 million dollars with 70% of that guaranteed a guy like that might be less likely to take the NFL risk.

Not a big fan of that rule. It will give teams with elite qb's a distinct advantage over the rest of the league. Its good the way it is now I think. We went from having the special player rule and paying guys like Flutie a million dollars a year to removing it and seeing guys like Burris leave because they were only able to make 150k a year in the CFL. The way it is now a QB who's special can get paid a lot of money in the 500 to 600k range. Teams who are lucky enough to have a qb in this range likely have to make sacrifices on the rest of the team which you saw in Edmonton last season. Its good the way it is i think.

I wouldn’t expect a massive increase to the cap unless the league is forecasting new revenue streams. It doesn’t look like gate revenue is on the rise. I would imagine though that the minimum salary will be increased in order to help fend off competition from other leagues.

They still can sign in the nfl even when they are under contract. But if cfl players scoff at the 2 year deals I can’t see these 3 year deals being all that appealing.

I would think that if Bo goes to the nfl there will be a lineup of second rate qbs like Jennings and Collaras begging Calgary to sign them. They could really restablish their value in the system and supporting cast.

I’m convinced that Claybrooks D is much more aggressive than the bend but not break style Stubler is famous for.

Pretty sure there will be a gentlemen's agreement in place. It sounds like the CFL and XFL already have something to prevent players from playing in both leagues. The issue with the AAF is that they have a 3 year contract minimum. So it's not like a player from the CFL could go there and think that they are going to come back to the CFL the next season. With all the player safety concerns these days i just don't see these leagues allowing players to play 38 games a year. There would be no jumping back and forth mid-season anyways because the seasons don't run at the same time.

If Bo Goes to the NFL and Claybrooks raids Calgary we are going to finally find out how good of a coach Dickenson is.

Hopefully Stubler and Claybrooks can lure Alex Singleton to BC.. That would be hitting two birds with one stone. Weakens Calgary and strengthens Winnipeg as Bighill's likelihood of returning would be high.

The problem with these leagues is they are minor leagues... In no sport do minor league teams in the United States gain enough popularity to gain national TV ratings. They are coming in and paying players too much money. There are so many players out there that they would field a similar caliber of play with half the pay. Even Johnny Mazniel played basically for free in the Spring League. These leagues are highly unlikely to come anywhere near turning profits. There already is a second football circuit that's popular in the NCAA. I just don't see this working at the salaries they are paying out. Can't wait for the AAF and XFL CFL dispersal drafts!!

Not a bad choice considering they were rejected by Orlondo, Lapo, and Claybrooks. He has a ring and will certainly make things more uncomfortable for players not giving their all.

I know. I’m not suggesting that the cfl exclusively hire Canadians. But just do more of it. When you need to find a coach and haven’t developed one maybe look to the cis rather than ncaa. At least they will have a strong familiarity with the Canadian game coming in. And whether or not the ncaa offer health insurance is s non-issue

CFL should focus on hiring Canadians. The problem with hiring Americans is that health care is a thing down there. Coaches living year-round in Canada don't have to worry about it. Plus I think the NCAA would be less likely to poach Canadian coaches. When they poach a CFL coach it's typically a situation where the guy was a known commodity as a player south of the line before coming to the CFL. Fears over this football operations cap I think are overblown. Its affecting a couple teams who were overspending because they could. Meantime teams like Calgary who are better run don't seem to have any issues. You gotta develop coaches yourself so you always have a up and comer available when you lose a coach. I remember when Calgary lost Rich Stubler and there was some concern. Claybrooks ended up being cheaper and better.

The pass defense improved when going from TJ Heath to Sayles.. So no. Definitely put Juran on this list.

Seems like teams may be using the football operations cap of a more polite way to give people their walking papers. Anyone we should cap out of the organization?

The riders have been spending 3.5 million per year on football operations than Winnipeg. Aside from scouts, players and coaches what else would that budget extend to? I guess some of it could be going to a large fake injury list that didn’t count against the cap.

It sounds like NBC was holding off on the AAF because they were more interested in the XFL. When you look at the team locations on a map the XFL is more interesting to national networks. The AAF only seems to capture the southern portion of the map. They seem to be targeting more markets that might have a local fanbase who would actually go to a game where the XFL is moreso targetting a wide television audience.

I’m pretty sure that the job would go to Buck. I’d be tempted to take a serious look at Ryan Dinwiddie. I was impressed with how he handled being rushed into the OC job in Montreal and he’s since coached under Dave Dickenson and could maybe duplicate what they’ve been doing so well in Calgary.