Okay, so the off season officially begins now that the Grey Cup is over. Lots of topics for discussion in the months to come with the Bombers & the League. A new CBA needs to be negotiated sooner rather than later.  Will there be an eventual agreement or a lockout? How much will the salary cap go up? Randy Ambrosie is on record that wants the cap to significantly go up so that is a positive.  Will Bo Levi Mitchell sign with an NFL or perhaps another CFL team? What about Mike Reilly & Trevor Harris who are also free agents? There's a new start up league called the  AAFL & there are legit concerns that it'll draw star CFL players away or hamper free agent signings with CFL teams. Coaching changes in BC & Toronto. The continuing evolving story of the expansion Halifax Schooners & possible exhibition games in Mexico. 

Edited November 27, 20187 yr by SpeedFlex27

The Ambrosie CFL 2.0 is going to get him fired, I believe. Sooner rather than later. 

Much rather have Canadians (even tenuously connected ones) than global players. **** sakes, why don't we focus on getting the 3 biggest cities in the country actually supporting our league before we worry about mexico and europe?

4 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Much rather have Canadians (even tenuously connected ones) than global players. **** sakes, why don't we focus on getting the 3 biggest cities in the country actually supporting our league before we worry about mexico and europe?

The CFL should have put money into research for better & safer helmets. Put $$$ back into grassroots football to develop the game here in Canada &  not freaking Mexico. 

 

37 minutes ago, Mr Dee said:

 

Knowing Justin Dunk would take the bait. 

I’ll tell you why I’m not in favour of reducing the ratio, there’s already good Canadian players (Simonise & Peterman for example) that Already don’t get much of an opportunity to play. I’m not sure why we would want to diminish that further. 

I should know this, but I'm in hockey brain mode right now - do Canadian QB's count against the ratio?

No

38 minutes ago, Blueandgold said:

I’ll tell you why I’m not in favour of reducing the ratio, there’s already good Canadian players (Simonise & Peterman for example) that Already don’t get much of an opportunity to play. I’m not sure why we would want to diminish that further. 

how many 12 year old Simonises and Petermans are coming up, ready to replace those two when they retire in 2029?

Judging from Harris' tweet about the AAF and XFL, this clearly is a big talking point for the negotiations. It does make sense that it likely divided the CFLPA, which is shame.

The league is already predominantly populated by American players. There are still good Canadian football players out there that deserve that chance to play. I get that guys like Singleton really aren't Canadian, but there are also a ton of guys that are and that I still want to see play. I even love that the Bombers have Canadians in their front office and coaching staff. 

7 hours ago, 17to85 said:

Much rather have Canadians (even tenuously connected ones) than global players. **** sakes, why don't we focus on getting the 3 biggest cities in the country actually supporting our league before we worry about mexico and europe?

QFT id be fine with giving a guaranteed spot on each team for 1 world player in TC but that's it. Id like to see this for NI qbs as well actually. It used to be an unwritten rule, a thing every team did but the guy had no chance. 

5 hours ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Knowing Justin Dunk would take the bait. 

I hope this is the case. 

 

 

40 minutes ago, kelownabomberfan said:

how many 12 year old Simonises and Petermans are coming up, ready to replace those two when they retire in 2029?

IMO, a lot of those kids exist. The problem is keeping them in football till they get here. I also think -1 NI starter but +2 NI roster spots fixes a lot of problems. 

First Mexican player interview... "aye crumba why officiating so bad why you no invest in improving quality of referees. .they no understand the pass intereference...."

 

 

35 minutes ago, Mr Dee said:

 

 

Serious question. Are there enough NI QBs to fill that roster spot? 

I don't see the need for that...or why people moan and complain about no Canadian QB's...or having a need for them...why?..if there isn't one..let alone 9 around to put on a roster and be a player who can contribute, and contribute effectively then whats the point??..YOu roster a sub par player with no hope in hell of really amounting to anything other than say as a short yardage guy just because he's Canadian?..I have never understood this thinking and seems pointless and a waste of a roster spot and SMS

 

2 hours ago, Booch said:

I don't see the need for that...or why people moan and complain about no Canadian QB's...or having a need for them...why?..if there isn't one..let alone 9 around to put on a roster and be a player who can contribute, and contribute effectively then whats the point??..YOu roster a sub par player with no hope in hell of really amounting to anything other than say as a short yardage guy just because he's Canadian?..I have never understood this thinking and seems pointless and a waste of a roster spot and SMS

I couldn't care less if there are any NI QB's in the league, but if there are, then they should be considered NI's. If that means teams roster one, just to have an extra DI, so be it. They'll pay dearly if they ever need to use the NI QB and he isn't good enough.

As for having a 4th QB spot designated just for a NI... That's a hard no from me.

The third QB gets so little playing time on any team. A 4th Canadian QB would just sit there until they got cut for a cheaper version, and no real progress in the position would be made.

Edited March 18, 20196 yr by TrueBlue4ever

YEAH i JUST wish the "Canadian" QB thing would just go away...there is a reason there are usually none...they just aren't good enough

A Canadian QB should be counted as one of the starting Canadians if they start. It gives a team even more of an incentive to develop and play guys like Brandon Bridge. Guys like Jordan Yantz had the talent to they just don't get the same opportunity at the pro level. But at the same time, i'm not sure that forcing teams to develop a Canadian QB is the way to go.

15 hours ago, Captain Blue said:

Judging from Harris' tweet about the AAF and XFL, this clearly is a big talking point for the negotiations. It does make sense that it likely divided the CFLPA, which is shame.

The league is already predominantly populated by American players. There are still good Canadian football players out there that deserve that chance to play. I get that guys like Singleton really aren't Canadian, but there are also a ton of guys that are and that I still want to see play. I even love that the Bombers have Canadians in their front office and coaching staff. 

Remember that even if the number of Canadian starters gets cut from 7 to 5, EVERY back-up still has to be a Canadian. 3 QBs, 20 internationals, and 21 Nationals at the this point (with a minimum reserve roster of 2). That's 189 guaranteed Canadian spots right now in the league compared to 207 Internationals, provided that every QB is American (which is not the case right now, but is the norm). If Halifax joins the league and the Canadian starter ratio gets reduced, then the total number of Canadian jobs in the CFL actually goes UP, to 190. I like the ratio rules and feel that we need Canadians in the CFL, not for the CFL itself but to keep Canadian university football going and building.

No team should “have to” roster a QB just because he’s a National, BUT, there can be a provision to carry one and not be ‘punished’ for doing so.

Make them part of the ‘EH’ team.

On the pay scale argument...

From the players’ side, there is concern the smaller talent pool has skewed the market for elite Canadians and given those players an economic advantage at the expense of their American counterparts.

Whether that disparity exists is an open question. According to sources, the average salary of a CFL player was around $84,000 in 2018. Excluding quarterbacks, athletes from the United States earned approximately $93,000 and Canadians $80,000. The gap would be wider if quarterbacks salaries were factored into the equation.

Remember, this is an average

4 minutes ago, Mr Dee said:

On the pay scale argument...

From the players’ side, there is concern the smaller talent pool has skewed the market for elite Canadians and given those players an economic advantage at the expense of their American counterparts.

Whether that disparity exists is an open question. According to sources, the average salary of a CFL player was around $84,000 in 2018. Excluding quarterbacks, athletes from the United States earned approximately $93,000 and Canadians $80,000. The gap would be wider if quarterbacks salaries were factored into the equation.

Remember, this is an average

This comparison is a bit apples and oranges though, since every American salary is for a starting player, and 2/3 of the Canadian salaries are for back-ups, so one would expect that the back-up salaries would skew those numbers lower. Wonder what the average salary is for the 7 Canadian starting players per team?

14 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Wonder what the average salary is for the 7 Canadian starting players per team?

Match that against the 7 highest Import salaries then..